Washington DC Virtual Field Trip : Post #4 The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court

How the Supreme Court Works...

The Supreme Court is the most powerful and superior court in the United States because it was created based off the Constitution. The court itself has 9 justices and the only decisions that matter are the ones declared by the supreme court. Certain cases must be filed at the Supreme Court before they can move to any other lower standing court.

The Supreme Court has processes with sittings and recesses in hearings where they deliver or write their opinions. The main feature which is different in the Supreme Court is that there is no feedback from the jury or other witnesses. This doesn't take place because it's really time consuming and the Supreme Court has to check everything with a lower court anyways.

The Supreme Court has schedules in which it goes by throughout the week such as when public sessions take place, when they don't, when they don't have any sessions, and order lists which basically describes what cases are rejected and which ones are accepted. Over the summer is typically when the court reviews all the laws and prepares for new petitions and applications proposing new ones that way they are ready for the hearings during the fall.

Architecture and Art

Both the outside and the inside have marble pillars throughout the entire building including in the court room and the hallways. The pillars symbolize superiority. There are numerous amounts of artwork throughout the building such as statues of the Chiefs of Justice in the hallway and portraits of them in the conference rooms. Most of them were more than just Chiefs of Justice such as founding fathers, presidents, governors of states and so on.

Inside the court rooms are always two American flags on the left side and the right side which represents justice and law because it helps remind others what nation we are in and what given rights we all equally have and we must all hear by them meaning no one is greater than others.

The three pieces of art throughout the Supreme Court building is "The Thinker" which is located in Justice John Paul Steven's Chamber. I liked this piece because it represents a very well known piece of art through out the world even though it was created in France. Justice Stevens was given it as a gift. Another piece that stood out to me was a crystal gavel located in Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's Chamber. I thought this was neat because it's a glass piece of artwork representing justice and law. It looks pretty and at the same time it represents what the whole building is all about. The third piece that I really liked, really its multiple pieces or the idea of them, is the carved friezes located on the wall of the library anteroom. Basically they are carvings of greek or roman men who represent icons in the judicial world. I liked the idea of this because it shows who in the past were a part of a similar system that we have today. They also have them located on the outside of the building as well as part of the architectural art work.