How Laws Are Made
In my Media Law and Literacy class, we watched a 25 minute video, separated into two parts on the Supreme Court, and how laws are created. The video included basic information on how laws are are made, and also included interviews with Supreme Court Justices. The current Justices have over 200 years of experience that they are able to use as a resource in making the right decisions when voting on future laws in America. All of the Justices respect each other, and shake hands before sitting down with one another. Though they sometimes disagree on the future of our country, they share a common ground of wanting to create better laws for America.
It is a huge honor to be appointed by a President to serve on the Supreme Court. It is the job of the current or upcoming President to appoint, or nominate a new person to serve on the court if their is an opening due to one member retiring or leaving the seat. There have been over 100 Supreme Court Justices in American History serving the average of 16 years, but occasionally someone will stay on the court for double that amount of time. It is a big deal to be appointed onto the Supreme Court, and a huge honor. In an interview, one justice said that it takes 3-5 years to fully adapt to being on the court. They said at first, it is an "electric feeling" to sit in a room with other people who have years more of experience, but eventually they become accustom to it and truly love their jobs.
On the Supreme Court, there are 9 Justices at a time. Each Justice has a small team of administrative staff and law clerks to help them sort through the petitions that come their way. On average, each year the court is presented with 7,000 petitions citizens are hoping to turn into laws. Only about 100 of these petitions are chosen to be talked about by the court, and only some of those 100 will actually be passed. Once a petition, or potential law has made it too the point to be voted on, all 9 Justices sit down together in a room alone to vote. If it is voted on to be created a law, one Justice is assigned to write an opinion paper, with the help of their law clerk with research, on why it should become one. It usually takes 4 weeks to complete the first draft, but the opinion paper may be drafted up too 12 times. This may explain why it takes so long for a law to be put into place.
It is a huge honor to be appointed by a President to serve on the Supreme Court. It is the job of the current or upcoming President to appoint, or nominate a new person to serve on the court if their is an opening due to one member retiring or leaving the seat. There have been over 100 Supreme Court Justices in American History serving the average of 16 years, but occasionally someone will stay on the court for double that amount of time. It is a big deal to be appointed onto the Supreme Court, and a huge honor. In an interview, one justice said that it takes 3-5 years to fully adapt to being on the court. They said at first, it is an "electric feeling" to sit in a room with other people who have years more of experience, but eventually they become accustom to it and truly love their jobs.
On the Supreme Court, there are 9 Justices at a time. Each Justice has a small team of administrative staff and law clerks to help them sort through the petitions that come their way. On average, each year the court is presented with 7,000 petitions citizens are hoping to turn into laws. Only about 100 of these petitions are chosen to be talked about by the court, and only some of those 100 will actually be passed. Once a petition, or potential law has made it too the point to be voted on, all 9 Justices sit down together in a room alone to vote. If it is voted on to be created a law, one Justice is assigned to write an opinion paper, with the help of their law clerk with research, on why it should become one. It usually takes 4 weeks to complete the first draft, but the opinion paper may be drafted up too 12 times. This may explain why it takes so long for a law to be put into place.
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