#6: A visit to the Supreme Court

January 17, 2009

Annie in front of the Supreme Court Building

I don’t mean to be harsh, but the young woman who gave us a lecture on the history of the Supreme Court was not yet ready for prime time. We wondered if she’d had any public speaking experience at all. Sure, she knew her facts about how many cert petitions the court receives each year (about 10,000) and who was the longest serving justice (John Marshall) and even how old the red British-made drapes were (74 years), but Ms. Mouse’s presentation, especially compared to Paul, was not good. Even with a microphone her timid, rapid-fire delivery was barely audible. On top of that, she kept flailing her arms as if she was trying to generate her own wind energy. And…

Wait a minute! I need to take a deep breath and quit venting. None of this is helpful. Not to Ms. Mouse or to you. I apologize. To both of you. We’ve all been in over our head and it’s scary. Just thinking about how she must have felt makes me sorry that I was so impatient. Before her next speech to a bunch of tourists, I hope she gets a chance to practice. Then she’ll be more confident and I’m sure she’ll do a much better job.

Entry area for the Supreme Court Building

Anyway, the place is impressive. Particularly because despite the actual courtroom being rather small, the decisions that come down from the 9 justices often affect American life in profound and lasting ways.

My take-away from our visit was that anyone can petition to have his or her case heard by the Supreme Court. You don’t need a fancy, high-priced attorney representing you. You don’t even need an attorney at all! In fact, the Court sometimes receives hand-written petitions from ordinary folks… even prisoners in jail. But the motto of the court is “Equal Justice Under the Law” so every petition is treated with the same level of respect and given equal consideration. Now that’s fair!

P.S. Interested in the law? Check this out!