Supreme Court: Guardian of the Constitution & Protector of Equality - Essay Sample

Introduction

Supreme Court acts as a guardian for American citizens. It ensures that all people receive equal justice under law, and it also functions as an interpreter of the Constitution. A case is presented before the court for trial before the lawbreaker is found guilty or not guilty. The two attorneys representing the victim and the offender respectively present their arguments with evidence before the court (Supreme Court of the United States, n.d ). Before the court decides on whether the offender is guilty or no, the judge asks the jury’s opinion after they have weighed the two-argument presented by the attorneys. When the jury is in favor of the offender, then the charges are dropped and vice versa (Supreme Court of the United States, n.d). The arguments presented by the attorneys can either be claims or counterclaims. The claim supports the fact that the offender committed the crime he is accused of while the counterclaim opposes the idea that the accused is innocent. Both claim and counterclaim help the jury to consider the case brought in court for trial for the verdict.

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During a court session, the counterclaim rebuts the previous claim. The two types of claims governed in the federal court are compulsory and permissive counterclaims. When a decision is made in a Supreme Court, the dissenting opinion is the counterclaim disputing the decision made (Dyer & Maryland, 2017). The opinion is written by one or more judges statin disagreement with the majority opinion of the jury when they decided on the verdict of the presented case (Dyer & Maryland, 2017). A dissenting opinion is of importance since it put alternatives for the interpretation of the case presented, which many results in a future discussion of the case before a verdict is decided.

On the other hand, the ruling is an authoritative statement made by the judge on a debated point of the law. The opinion of the court is a statement prepared by the court to announce the decision after a trial. The statement includes a summary of facts, reading of the law applied, and how the law relates to the stated facts, reasoning supporting the verdict, and a judgment (Dyer & Maryland, 2017). The statement is usually presented in writing, although sometimes oral opinion is rendered. Oral arguments are spoken to the appellate court by an attorney when presenting themselves of the lawful reasons why they should succeed in winning that particular trial. Usually, oral argument accompanies written brief at the appellate level (Powell, 2018). The written brief advances the presented argument of each party in the legal dispute. It operates by each attorney in a case take turns to speak to the judge directly with equal time allocation (Powell, 2018).

Supreme Court Justices

The Supreme Court of the United States is the final court of appeal and final interpreter of the Constitution. The president of the United States appoints the justices and the chef of justice who is later confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The current names of Supreme Court justices include Clarence Thomas (service began October 23, 1991), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (served since August 10, 1993). Stephen G. Breyer, John G. Roberts, Jr., Samuel A. Alito, Sonia Sotomayor (service began on August 8, 2009). Elena Kagan (service began on August 7, 2010), Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Clarence Thomas was nominated by President George H. W. Bush on July 1, 1991, to succeed Thurgood Marshall. He is also the second African American to serve on the American Supreme Court. President Bill Clinton also nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg on June 14, 1993. She successfully fought against gender discrimination and unified the liberal block of the court. Stephen G. Breyer, John G. Roberts, Jr. was nominated by President George W. Bush no and took his seat on September 29, 2005. From 1981 to 1982, he was a Special Assistant to the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice (Supreme Court of the United States, n.d). President George W. Bush nominated Samuel A. Alito on January 31, 2006. He was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1990.

Sonia Sotomayor was nominated as an associate of Justice of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2009, by President Barack Obama. Sonia litigated international commercial matters in New York City at Pavia & Harcourt from 1984 to 1992, where she served as an associate and then as a partner. President Barrack Obama nominated Elena Kagan on May 10, 2010. Elena served as Associate Counsel to the President for four years in the Clinton Administration, and then as Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy (Supreme Court of the United States, n.d). President Donald J. Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch on April 10, 2017. In 2006, Gorsuch was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. President Donald J. Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh on October 6, 2018. From 1990 to 1991, he served as a law clerk for Judge Walter Stapleton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Supreme Court of the United States, n.d).

References

Dyer, A. R., & Maryland, O. (2017). In the Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved from http://www.lawlab.com/attorneygrievance/170921_Petition_Cert_plus_App_SCOTUS_FINAL.pdf

Powell, K. D. (2018). In the Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/rutlr24&section=19

Supreme Court of the United States. About The Court. Retrieved from https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx