Only 36% of Americans could name all three branches of the US government, according to a September 2014 Annenberg Public Policy Center research. They are the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The Legislative branch, often known as Congress, and the Executive branch, which is now headed by Joe Biden, both get a lot of media coverage. Visiting the judicial branch along with other branches (the courts) is not permitted for civilians but they should know about these branches. However, fewer people are aware of these branches.
The Constitution itself included the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States has exclusive jurisdiction over all legal matters. according to Article III. Congress was given the responsibility for the specifics, and after months of discussion and debate, the act of judiciary was finally approved on September 24, 1789. The Court’s early years were undoubtedly quiet. Both the basement of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., and Old City Hall in Philadelphia was where the justices gathered. After Chief Justice Over a period of more than 3 decades, John Marshall ruled over the Supreme Court, the court began to resemble the institution we know today.
The following is a list of 10 fascinating facts about the Supreme Court, some of which some people may not be aware of:
- Marshall is one of just two Supreme Court justices to be featured on U.S. currency. There were two bills: one for $500 and one for $10,000. Currently, neither of the two bills is in use.
- As a result of the 17 chief justices, there are 17 different judicial bodies. The chief justice who presided over the court’s sessions is used by historians of the Supreme Court to organize different periods of time in the court’s history. The Jay Court was the first, while the Roberts Court is the 17th on the books. This court sat for a total of 34 years, starting in 1801 and concluding in 1835. He was 50 years old when he took the oath of office in 2005, whereas Marshal, who was 45 years old when he swore an oath, was 45.
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the most financially successful member of the Supreme Court. According to Above the Law, her estimated net worth is as high as $18.1 million, in contrast to the little wealth of Justice Anthony Kennedy, which is estimated to be somewhere about $700,000.
- There was a Turkish-born justice on the Supreme Court. Justice David J. Brewer was born in the Ottoman Republic in 1837; his parents were preachers. Steven Johnson Field, his mother’s brother, resided with them. Brewer and Field both worked as justices of the Supreme Court and shared the bench.
- It wasn’t until 1935 that the court had a permanent residence that was up to code. Before the Civil War, the court was situated in a variety of sites, and from 1861 until 1935, it was located in the Old Senate Chamber. A lack of space in the chamber meant that the judges had to have their lunch in the robes. Supreme Court building proponents were led by William Howard Taft, the Chief Justice.
- The justices did in fact “travel the circuit” and hear cases from throughout the country. This was a bone of contention for certain justices, who disliked having to travel a much. Supreme Court justices were required to rule over a circuit court once a year as a result of the mandate. It wasn’t until 1891 that the rule was officially repealed.
- One of the most prejudiced judges to have ever served was Justice James Clark McReynolds, according to modern opinion. The Spectator provides a great study of his racism, with “highlights” including his regular anti-Semitic remarks and calling an all-black university a “n***er university” while getting his hair cut by an African-American barber. He was not extremely popular, as you might expect. None of his coworkers showed up for his burial after he passed away.
- Beloved President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued one of the least-liked Executive Orders in history, detaining all Japanese people, regardless of citizenship, in camps during World War II. The Supreme Court upheld the validity of the order in Korematsu v. U.S. Justice Hugo Black stated that racial hatred could never justify the establishment of such prohibitions, only pressing public need.
- The court also included a justice’s grandchild. From 1955 through 1971, John Marshall Harlan II was president. The illustrious John Marshall Harlan, who presided over the court from 1877 until 1911, was his grandfather. Because of his resistance to verdicts that supported Jim Crow legislation in the South, the older Harlan was referred to as the Great Dissenter.
- The oath-taking ceremony for Sotomayor in 2009 was the very first time an inauguration was shown on television. Hearings before the Supreme Court are never broadcast on television.
Now you know 10 fascinating facts about the Supreme Court of the United States of America.