The U.S. Supreme Court is made up of people who only try court cases that have reached the highest level. Depending on the case, the Supreme Court is normally the last resort. About 8,000 cases are filed for Supreme Court but only about 100 or less actually go through. Because this is one of the three coequal branches of the government, it was started with the founding of our country.
People whose cases go to the Supreme Court go there because they have exhausted every other appeal in the other courts. These cases can be anything. People who normally make it to the Supreme Court are there because they are not happy with the turn out from the other courts. What makes a case stand out to be heard but the Supreme Court is Certiorari. This means that they only agree to hear what they think is most important. These cases are most likely about controversial constitutional issues such as religion and public schools.
The judges in the Supreme Court are the most pristine in the country, maybe even the world. To become a judge for the Supreme Court, one must be nominated by the president and confirmed by a majority of the senators. Once they have been appointed, they are a Supreme Court judge until they die or resign. This idea of lifelong power raises some questions. The fact that these judges are allowed to serve and make such important decisions into their elderly years, can make one question their decision making. With people living longer, some of these judges have been serving for 30 or more years. They get to the ages that bring up the question of whether they are mentally capable of making such important decisions for our country. Should there be a sanity test at a certain age or should it be left alone?
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