Famous Justices and Cases of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has a long and rich history. There are many types of judges with different ideologies. First in order to get appointed to the Supreme Court, each justice must go through a confirmation process. This means that they must be interviewed and questioned by the Supreme Court. If the Senate has enough votes to veto the nominee, the judge will not be allowed to serve on the Supreme Court.

There are two main ideaologies which are judicial activists and strict constructionsits. Judicial Activists see the Constitution as a living document that can be changed over time according to each different time period. Judicial Activist Judges interpreted the Constitution to allow for women to have the right to an abortion. Strict Constructionist judges interpret the Constitution in a strict manner and want the letter of the law followed rather than the spirit of the law.

Often the Supreme Court is shaped by the Chief Justices who serve on the court. The first chief justice John Marshall faced the historic cases of Marbury v. Madison and Gideon v. Ogden which was a case of state vs. federal rights when it came to a sailing permit. Chief Justice Earl Warren took a judicially activist stance on civil rights and as a result many civil rights laws were passed. Cases the Supreme Court dealth with in his tenure on the bench include Brown v. Board of Education and Miranda Arizona. In Brown v. Board of Education blacks were given equal treatment. In Miranda v. Arizona the Supreme Court stated that anyone arrested must be read their legal rights by the police.

In the middle of the 19th century, Justuice Roger Taney led the court. Taney was a very conservative judge and as a result the court ruled in a conservative manner. In 1921-1930 William Taft was the Chief Justice and later on he became president of the United States. The Taft court became famous for its indiciveness. In the ten years that Taft was the Supreme Court judge, only one decision was ever made which affected the country.

Other landmark Supreme Court cases include Dred Scott in 1856, Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, Roe v. Wade in 1973 and Bush v. Gore in 2000. In the Dred Scott decision, Dred Scott was a slave whose master had died and was then sold again. He challenged his freedom in court. The Supreme Court ruled against him saying that he was property and could not bring up a lawsuit in the first place and that he was in fact not a free man. The Plessy v. Ferguson essentially went completely against the Dred Scott decision. Normally, precedents set by the Supreme Court but the Plessy v. Ferguson decision showed how the court changes with the time period in history.

The Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion and Bush v. Gore officially stated that Bush was the president of the U.S.