Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was a Supreme Court justice from 1902-1932. His quote above accurately depicts the Supreme Court; describing it as a storm is perfect, especially when they get over 7,000 cases to review a year. Like a storm of cases coming in the justices choose 100 a year to review. A monster of a system, the Supreme Court has been around since the 1770s, with George Washington signing off on their first act turned into law.
Since third grade, I've associated the Supreme Court with the School House Rock song; I'm Just a Bill. I've known about the process of making a law, but I never knew about the judges appointed to make those laws. I didn't realize that there was a difference in power between the justices. The Chief Justice sets the agenda and appoints justices to different roles.
I think the most important takeaway of the Supreme Court is that they are the most powerful judicial body on earth. They have an immense power to keep other powerful government officials in check, but they mainly use their power for human dilemmas. Like legalizing gay marriage in 2015, this was the first ruling of the Supreme Court that I remember. I remember the impact this decision made; people were celebrating all over the news, on social media, in tv and movies, and on the streets. The justice's power to impact our daily lives was felt by everyone that day.
The most surprising thing I've learned about the Supreme Court is that there have only been 100 justices. I don't know why but I've always thought there were a lot more people that have served on the Supreme Court. Before learning about the justices in school, I have known about some justices. Growing up, my mom taught me about Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. My mom taught me about these woman because they inspired her; she wanted me to have strong female role models that were helping people—watching a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the documentary surprised me. The only woman in the room and still spoke up and made comments that were more insightful than the other men in the room. It was clear she had the other justice's respect when the interviewer asked someone a question, and he passed the question along to Ginsburg because he felt she was more equipped to answer the question. That was really refreshing to watch, especially considering it was filmed in the 80's.
This video changed the way I thought of the supreme court because it was the first time I've seen the justices interact with each other. Seeing that humanized them, I've always thought of the justices as larger-than-life characters. Seeing them making jokes with each other, bouncing ideas off each other, and helping each other made me realize they are everyday people like me.
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