Essay on the Us Supreme Courts Role in Society: How Representative Are They?

In the United Sates, the Supreme Court, as well as being regarded as the final court of appeal, plays a vital part in the development of the legal framework and jurisprudence in the United States. As a court of appeal, The Supreme Court of the United States cannot make a consideration of such a case unless a significant order has been materialized in a lower court. The Supreme Court happens to be the final court of appeal for criminal cases and civil cases for the entirety of the United States. The court is charged with the responsibility of hearing all the appeals on debatable points of general civil relevance; focuses on cases that have to do with the greatest constitutional and public importance. Also, the Supreme Court makes sure that it maintains and develops the roles and responsibilities of the highest court in the United States as a leader in the world of common law. The United States Supreme Court is representative in that all the law courts in the land make rulings that fall in line with its jurisprudence.

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The United States Supreme Court gets all its power and influence from Article 3 of the Constitution. The first section of Article three makes a provision that the judicial power of the United States shall be placed in a single Supreme Court, and in such a number of lesser courts as Congress may time and again make an establishment of and ordain. With respect to the above-mentioned provision, the United States Supreme Court was established through the mandate of the Judiciary Act of 1789. The Court met for the very first time on February 2, 1790.

Equal Justice under Law is the main driving force of the United States Supreme Court. These words, engraved atop the main entrance to the courts premises, are an expression of the primary role of the U.S. Supreme Court (McCloskey, 11). The Court happens to be the highest tribunal in the land for controversies and cases arising under the constitution of the legal provisions of the United States. As the most important arbiter of the law, the Supreme Court is charged with the task of making sure the American citizens never deem themselves shortchanged when it comes to matters of being accorded justice under law, and thus, also functions as guardians and expounders of the constitution (Choper, 55).

The court plays the role of the highest tribunal in the nation for all the controversies and cases arising under the Constitution of the legal provisions of the United States. As the final arbiter of the law, the Supreme Court is charged with making sure that all the American people are accorded constitutionally the promise of equal justice under law and thus, also functions as interpreters and guardians of the constitution (Gibson and Michael, 35).

The Supreme Court conducts all its activities and makes all its rulings in a manner that is predominantly American; both in function and in concept. Very few courts in the rest of the world have similar authority when it comes to matters of constitutional interpretation, and none of them have put it to work for as long or with a similar level of influence. Fifteen decades ago, a French political observer commended the Supreme Court and the entirety of the American legal system. Alexis de Tocqueville made a note of a unique position of the United States Supreme Court in the history of nations and of jurisprudence, he said "The representative structure of administration has been embraced by a number of countries in Europe," he made a remark, "but I am uninformed that any country in the world has up till now has a well thought-out judicial authority in the same way as the Americans . . . . A much more impressive judicial authority was never constituted by any nation."

The unique function of the Supreme Court emanates from, for the most part, from the deep seated want and commitment of the American government towards the rule of law to a government that is constitutional. The Supreme Court of the United States of America, through its legal stipulations, has shown an unparalleled will to protect and to preserve its written Constitution, thus being able to offer the American experiment in democracy with one of the oldest written constitutions still in force (Baum, 77). The unique role, of the U.S Supreme Court, stems from the fact that the U.S. Constitution is a document that is carefully balanced. It is tailored to provide for a national government in a manner that is sufficient, flexible, and strong to meet the needs of the republic, but limited in a just and sufficient manner to protect the guaranteed rights of Americans. The court provides a balance between the societys want for order and the individuals right to freedom. To make an assurance of the ends mentioned above, the Supreme Court is an inspiration to and oversees the behavior of the public and the conduct of all the public servants in the three branches of government. It has offered and still does without ceasing, the democratic government via the periodic stresses of more than 200 years; painting a perfect picture of its will and commitment to serve the American people (Lawrence, 29).

The complex role of the Supreme Court in the American system of government comes from its power to make invalid legal provisions or executives actions which, in the Courts considered judgment, conflict a great deal with the constitution. Such power that defines judicial review has granted the courts massive responsibility in making sure that all Americans are never deprived of their individual rights as well as in the maintenance of a living Constitution whose broad provisions are time and again applied to complex and brand new cases (Matter and Alois, 43)

In as much as the function of judicial review is not clearly elevated as a provision in the United Sates, it had been looked forward to before the adoption of that document. Just before the year 1789, the other courts of the states had already made a point of overturning legal provisions that were not in line with their constitutions. In addition to that, many of Americas founding fathers expected the Supreme Court to make an assertion of its function with respect to the constitution. In a nutshell, what the Supreme Court looks to achieve is to offer a platform to all Americans so that they can realize justice; in a way, it is where the lesser courts are reported, and rebuttals are presented. The Supreme Court applies corrective measures especially where defendants feel they have received the short end of the stick in lesser court rulings.

Works Cited

Baum, Lawrence. The Supreme Court. CQ press, 2015.

Choper, Jesse H. Judicial review and the national political process: A functional reconsideration of the role of the Supreme Court. Quid Pro Books, 2013.

Gibson, James L., and Michael J. Nelson. "Is the US Supreme Court's legitimacy grounded in performance satisfaction and ideology?." American Journal of Political Science 59.1 (2015): 162-174.

Lawrence, Susan E. The Poor in Court: The Legal Services Program and Supreme Court Decision Making. Princeton University Press, 2014.

Matter, Ulrich, and Alois Stutzer. "The Role of Lawyer-Legislators in Shaping the Law: Evidence from Voting on Tort Reforms." The Journal of Law and Economics 58.2 (2015): 357-384.

McCloskey, Robert G., and Sanford Levinson. The American supreme court. University of Chicago Press, 2016.