The United States court system

The Court System in the United States

The court system in the United States is separated into several systems. The Supreme Court, the highest court in the United States, is the first branch. Federal courts are the other branch of the legal system in the United States. The Constitution empowers Congress to establish additional federal courts in accordance with several clauses. The president appoints supreme court justices, who are subsequently confirmed by the Senate. The Supreme Court has nine members, including one chief justice and eight associate justices. A case requires a minimum of six members to be decided. If there is a tie in the Supreme Court, the decision of the lower court stands. Justices do not have a fixed term. They serve until they retire, die or they get exceptionally removed from the office. The court is considered the highest tribunal in the United States for all controversies and cases which arise under the law or the Constitution. As the final law arbiter, the court is tasked with ensuring that US citizens are granted equal justice under the law. The courts also function as the interpreter and guardian of the constitution (USA Government n.p).

The Distinct American Function and Concept of the Supreme Court

Through my observations, the Supreme Court is distinctly American in functions and concept. The Supreme Court positions itself from deep commitment of American citizens to constitutional government and the rule of law. The court system of the country has upheld and demonstrated clearly that it is determined to protect and preserve its constitution thus providing Americans with democracy (Hughes 2-6).

The Role of the Supreme Court in the System

I also observed that the role of the Supreme Court in the system derives all information from the Constitution from its authority to invalidate executive or legislation which the court considers as the conflict of judgement with the constitution. The power of the judicial review has given the court a significant responsibility in ensuring that the rights of individuals are protected as well as maintenance of a living constitution whose provision will be applied to new situations (Hughes par.2-4).

The Anticipation of Judicial Review

While the Constitution does not provide judicial review functions, it has been anticipated already before document adaptation. Before 1789, the courts in the state had already overturned the act of legislative act which conflicted with the constitution. There was need of judicial review as it helped the court system to be able to solve problems between the executive and legislature. Since the two bodies are political, it was hard to resolve any issue on the two branches without the review of the constitution. Through the examination of the judicial, the court system ensured that the will of all citizens as expressed in the Constitution are strictly followed compared to that of the legislature whose statutes can only express the will of some people. The review of the constitution was aimed at focusing on American citizens as a whole. The review ensured that all judgements are left in the hands of independent judges rather than allowing conflict and tumult of the political process which can result affect the right of individuals as stipulated in the constitution (Hughes par.1-4). If every question on the constitution could be decided through political bargaining, then the constitution could be reduced to competing for faction background through partisan decisions.

The Handling of Cases and Finality of Supreme Court Rulings

The court system also receives many cases on a daily basis. So, the judges need to decide on the discretion cases to here since they are about 7,000 – 8,000 cases which are filed in Supreme Court annually (Hughes par.1-5). As a result, there is need to handle cases by urgency considering that the Supreme Court comprises eight judges where a case requires six judges on the bench.

I learnt that the ruling of Supreme Court on a constitutional issue is considered virtually final. The decision can only be altered by the process of constitutional amendments or through a new ruling by the same court (Hughes par.1). When a court interprets a statute to either the legislative or executive, the new action is adopted as it is taken.

Works Cited