What group wears all black, is intelligent beyond measure, and has some of the highest powers available in the United States? If you were thinking of the superheroes from the movie Avengers Endgame, you were close.... But, I am actually referring to the nine badass men and women that make up the current Supreme Court of the United States. As of 2021, these individuals are headed by Chief Justice John Roberts, who is assisted by the remaining eight associate justices. Their names are Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. These Justices are the "top dogs" of the judicial branch and serve as the highest federal court in the country, all tasked with ensuring that the constitutionality of the government and their actions are kept in check.
The power of the Supreme Court is tied directly to the Constitution, specifically Article III. The group is allowed to establish means within their court and the lower systems, but are ultimately controlled by the Executive and Legislative branches. The United States Congress was first allowed to decide the makeup of Supreme Court, but now that power lies in the hands of the President. While Justices serve for life or until they decide to step down from their position, their replacements are proposed by the head of state and then are either confirmed or denied by the Senate. In the last year, we have seen this rigorous process take place with the death of RBG and her successor Amy Coney Barrett.
The Supreme Court has many duties, but its most prominent regards hearing and handing down decisions on the constitutionality of cases that reach its level. The group also has the power of certiorari, or to pick and choose the cases they see. This means that any case that reaches all the way to the highest court in the country is either of utmost importance, or it has the power to set a key precedent for further legal proceedings. Precedents are decisions that are handed down from cases seen by the group that establish a basis for further decision making in trials to come. They are one of the most important outputs of the Supreme Court. Some of the most infamous decisions made by the Court are Roe v Wade (1973), which ruled that women have a right to an abortion within their first two trimesters of pregnancy, and Obergefell v Hodges (2015), which concluded that same-sex marriages were to be legal across the United States. The Supreme Court's influence and power will continue to be a dominant and leading force of justice in the U.S. for years to come.
References:
https://tucson.com/news/national/the-9-current-justices-of-the-us-supreme-court/collection_5d491442-d98e-5a29-9ffd-e99507179c25.html#9
https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts
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