How the Supreme Court Makes Decisions

01Here is a question.

02Who is the most powerful person in the United States?

03No, the answer is not the president.

04The answer is not even one person.

05Some observers would argue the most powerful people are the nine judges, called justices, who sit on the Supreme Court.

06Their decisions affect nearly every part of Americans' lives.

07Here is lawyer Michael Trachtman.

08He wrote a book about how important the Supreme Court is.

09The Supreme Court defines the distinctions between church and state.

10The Supreme Court decides how you're treated and what happens to you and what your rights are.

11Should you be charged with a crime?

12The Supreme Court defines your rights if, for example, you are a racial or religious or ethnic minority and you feel as though you are being discriminated against.

13The Supreme Court defines how your life will be.

14The Supreme Court defines how the U.S.

15political process works and how laws are made.

16The court defines the power of the president.

17The court can make decisions on rules governing technology and business.

18The court protects Americans' ability to say what they want about what they want.

19The Supreme Court also defines religious rights, workers' rights, students' rights, property rights, and privacy rights.

20And it can decide cases involving the right to die, the right to marry, and the right to stand up to employers and public officials.

21It's very hard to find anything that the Supreme Court doesn't define and affect in American life.

22So, how do the court's members make their important decisions?

23First, justices are appointed by the president and approved by Congress.

24Once approved, justices hold their positions for life.

25Elizabeth Slattery of the Heritage Foundation notes that justices are not supposed to be political.

26She says, they are supposed to be neutral and fair.

27Every year, the justices decide to hear about 100 cases.

28Each case is a real conflict.

29Between groups, individuals, or federal and state governments.

30The Supreme Court does not advise on policy decisions before ruling on a case.

31After the justices decide what cases to rule on, they read about the history of the legal arguments.

32They try to learn what judges, lawyers, and other interested parties have said about it.

33When the justices finally hear the case, the trial usually lasts one hour.

34Both sides have 30 minutes to speak.

35If the government would like to talk about the case, a government lawyer is limited to half an hour, just like someone representing the opposing side.

36Linda Greenhouse is a reporter who followed the Supreme Court for 30 years.

37She says, The courtroom is not very big.

38It holds a few hundred people.

39The justices sit behind a bench, but their seating is raised only about one meter above the floor.

40The lawyers who are making the argument stand very close to the justices.

41And many lawyers, after they make their first argument, have commented on how surprisingly intimate the space feels.

42Greenhouse describes the Supreme Court building as having a modest quality.

43And, she notes, it is open to visitors.

44The public can stand in line and try to get a seat to listen to lawyers and justices discussing a case.

45Supreme Court justices do not announce their decisions on cases right away.

46Instead, they privately discuss the cases together and sometimes try to persuade each other to accept a way of thinking.

47For a final ruling, at least five of the nine justices must agree.

48One or more of those justices is asked to write the majority opinion.

49Justices who disagree may write a minority opinion.

50All opinions are released, but the majority opinion is the final ruling.

51Greenhouse notes that the Supreme Court and its decisions are not always popular among Americans.

52One of the current disagreements related to the Supreme Court is how the justices should think about, well, thinking.

53Elizabeth Slattery of the Heritage Foundation supports an idea called originalism.

54This is where judges try to understand how the text was originally understood by the public at the time that it was passed.

55In other words, Slattery says, In cases related to constitutional issues, justices should try to remain true to the public's understanding of an issue when the law was approved.

56In cases related to constitutional issues, justices using an originalist interpretation try to consider what Americans thought of the issue in 1789, when the Constitution was enacted.

57The idea behind this way of thinking, Slattery says, is to prevent justices from letting personal opinions influence their decisions.

58Reporter Linda Greenhouse supports a different way of thinking.

59Her term for this is pragmatic.

60Greenhouse points out that many things have changed since the time the U.S.

61Constitution was written.

62For example, many of America's founders accepted slavery.

63In addition, many did not support equality among people of different races or between women and men.

64Greenhouse says, A pragmatic interpretation considers the U.S.

65Constitution as a guide to understanding the law in modern society.

66It is a hope for the future, she says, that permits change.

67Whatever justices decide, their ruling is final.

68Unless lawmakers and the public decide to change the Constitution.

69Or unless the Supreme Court overrules itself later.

70Lawyer and writer Michael Trachtman notes that Supreme Court justices respect the court's earlier decisions.

71But, he adds, the Supreme Court is not limited by anything that happened in the past.

72And, he says, over time, the Supreme Court has overturned rulings on many major issues, including guns and same-sex marriage.

73Elizabeth Slattery of the Heritage Foundation says, The modern Supreme Court aims not to change the laws too quickly.

74Yes, she says, new information, new situations, or simply new justices can help overturn a ruling.

75But, she says, the Supreme Court often takes baby steps to make slow change over time.

76I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.