A Visit to the Supreme Court

Photo: Ileana Johnson

On a sunny but cold day in December, we were guided on a tour of the Supreme Court, the bastion of definitive justice in the U.S., handed down by the nine black-robed group, a chief justice and eight associate justices, who ultimately decide, in case by case they cherry-pick, the hanging-in-the-balance fate of our Constitutional Republic.

Liberals in this esteemed group echo the sentiments of Democrats who keep telling us non-stop that we are a democracy that we must promote by twisting our Founding Fathers’ documents and intent because Americans are too dumb to know the difference and know so little of their history thanks to the socialist leaning education system and academia.

Photo: Ileana Johnson

Photo: Ileana Johnson

The Supreme Court is in a cold marble building, with 16 huge and overwhelming Corinthian columns.  Just in case you missed the profound power and importance of the Supremes in our daily lives, a triangle-shaped pediment with a group of figures reminds you with the words, “Equal justice under law.” Somehow flawed human beings with biases and different backgrounds are going to use a perfect measurement to deliver equal justice to each case brought before them.

Male statue facing the Capitol building
Photo: Ileana Johnson

Female statue 

Photo: Ileana Johnson

Two marble statues by sculptor James Earle Fraser are located on the side of the main entrance - a seated female figure on the left called the “Contemplation of Justice,” and a seated male figure on the right called the “Guardian or Authority of Law.”

The building faces the other part of our governing system, the Capitol, with the House of Representatives currently suffused with Democrats eager to deliver us as quickly as possible on a downward slide into socialism and communism.

Photo: Ileana Johnson

Photo: Ileana Johnson

John Marshall statue

More busts along the marble corridors

Photo: Ileana Johnson

The interior is also cold and rich in marble, decorated with Greek keys and blue rosette freezes, and heavily brocaded red velvet curtains trimmed with gold rope. Statues, portraits, and court memorabilia adorn the interior. Antonin Scalia’s portrait, a favorite among conservatives, hangs near the entrance to the cafeteria’s serving line.

Ceiling
Photo: Ileana Johnson

The Supreme Court Police, the law enforcement arm, was present everywhere throughout the massive building with bronze doors that weigh 6.5 tons each. The Great Hall is 91 feet long, 82 feet wide, and has an overwhelming 44-foot ceiling. The rich marble was quarried from Alabama, Georgia, Vermont, Italy, and Spain.

To keep the support staff entertained and in good shape, the fifth floor has a basketball court referred to as “the highest court in the land.”

RBG rack in gift shop

Photo: Ileana Johnson

Across from the cafeteria entrance is a small museum gift shop filled with trinkets and books written by or dedicated to current justices. An entire shelf is dedicated to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the declared heroine of the communist left. She hangs on to her powerful seat despite severe health issues. She was in court asking questions, fresh from her hospital bed.

The Court, we are told by the guide, holds sway over judicial review and the power to invalidate a statute that violates a provision of the U.S. Constitution, or to strike down presidential directives that violate either the Constitution or statutory law. When it was asked to decide if forcing Americans to buy insurance under the Affordable Care Act of 2010 was constitutional, Justice Roberts’ Court decided that buying health insurance was a tax and therefore constitutional.

“The Court may decide cases having political overtones, but it has ruled that it does not have power to decide non-justiciable political questions.” If you are confused, you are not alone.

Photo: Ileana Johnson

Article III of the Constitution established the Supreme Court and the 1^st Congress established its composition and procedures through the Judiciary Act of 1789.  In the Judiciary Act of 1869, the Court was to have a chief justice and eight associate justices with lifetime tenure, until such a time that one resigned, retired, died, or was removed from office. The President, with advice and consent of the Senate, appointed a new justice. There have been as few as five and as many as ten justices on the court as determined by Congress.

Before this building was dedicated, the Supreme Court met in locales outside of Washington, D.C., i.e., the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City, Philadelphia in 1790, and finally moved to Washington in 1800 where it met in the newly built U.S. Capitol Building. Thanks to President William Howard Taft, himself a Chief Justice, this permanent home for the Supreme Court was completed in 1935.

According to the guide, in this life-time government job, the chief justice is remunerated $260,000 annually, and the associate justices $250,000 each.

In Marbury v. Madison, judicial review was established, making the Supreme Court the final arbiter and say of what Congress and what the President do. If it’s not consistent with the Constitution, it is supposed to be illegal. However, the interpretation of the Affordable Care Act requirement to buy health insurance as a tax was decided and influenced for political reasons.

During argument, the lawyers on each side have 30 minutes each to present their cases. For each lawyer, the first two minutes are uninterrupted time. The next 28 minutes are constantly interrupted by various justices who ask questions. The fine art of winning is a lawyer who answers questions in such a way that his answers may sway the decision of the individual justices. Justices do have their own histories and political biases, have read the underlying briefs, and have probably already decided how they would vote in the case.

The opinions of the court are given out during the term of the court, October through September. Once a majority decision has been reached, the chief justice decides who writes the opinion of the court.

Male statue by Fraser overlooking the Capitol

Photo: Ileana Johnson

The actual courtroom is average in size, with seats for the press on the right of the bench, black chairs for the court families and friends on the left, seats for the lawyers in the middle, and seats for the audience in the back. The clerk of the court sits under the flag. A female marshal times the proceedings and, when the 30 minutes are up, a red light turns on. The case is thus submitted but nobody knows whether they’ve won or lost.

Photo: Ileana Johnson

The Supremes meet once a week and talk about the cases they’ve heard that week. Once five justices agree on how the case will be decided, then a written opinion is issued. A dissenting opinion can also be issued and a concurring opinion, meaning, it agrees with the ruling but for a different reason.

During oral argument justices ask questions, letting the world know in what direction they lean on a case. Two lawyers for each side can argue but usually one speaks. During court session arguments are heard on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10-12.

Behind metal gates on both sides, corridors are lined with chairs where clerks can sit and listen during arguments.

Photo: Ileana Johnson

The audience red velvet seats are occupied on a first come, first served basis, but the lines to get in are formed days and hours in advance. There are actual companies which, for a fee, will send line sitters for you.

The press is not allowed any recording devices or photography. The court sketch artist sits behind them.

Per tradition, no video is allowed during proceedings on the bench, per decision of the justices, but there is an audio and a video transcript of the proceedings posted on the website. The recording device is located on the left side of the Chief Justice and the human timekeeper sits on the same end.

The guide informed us that the court hears only about 60 cases (less than one percent) per term out of more than 7,000-8,000 petition cases that are brought for consideration to be heard by the court.

Photo: Ileana Johnson

The Chief Justice of SCOTUS sits in the middle chair (John Roberts), on his immediate right sit justices in order of seniority. The Associate Justice with the most time on the court is Clarence Thomas. On his left sits Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second one with seniority on the court.

Spiral staircase

Photo: Ileana Johnson

As I left the marble mausoleum-like building, I wondered how many millions of Americans across many generations have been affected by the good and bad decisions made by nine fallible, biased, and all-powerful humans in black robes, decisions that can never be reversed?