Importance of the Supreme Court
They decided freedom of speech issues...they ensure equal protection under the law...they protect our fundamental rights as citizens...they even govern over human lives. Their power is great and undeniable, yet Americans know little about them.
Who are these powerful people? They are the nine justices of the Supreme Court of the United States appointed by the president with the advice and consent of Congress. While Congress creates laws, the Supreme Court interprets those laws and is the branch of government ultimately responsible for the most important law of our nations: the Constitution of the United States. One justice is appointed as the chief justice and has additional administrative duties related both to the Supreme Court and to the entire federal court system.
The Supreme Court convenes on the first Monday of October each year and usually continues in session through June. The Supreme Court receives and disposes of about 5,000 cases each year, most by a brief decision that the subject matter is either not proper or not of sufficient importance to warrant review by the full court. Cases are heard en banc, which means by all the justices sitting together in open court. Each year the court decides about 150 cases of great national importance and interest, and about three-fourths of such decisions are announced in full published opinions. The Supreme Court building is across the street from the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
Independence of the Supreme Court at Risk
Our Constitution establishes an independent federal judiciary to be a bulwark of individual liberty against incursions or expansions of power by the political branches. That independence is what makes our judiciary the model for others around the world. That independence is at grave risk when a president seeks to pack the courts with activists from either side of the political spectrum. We need fair judges, not sure votes for a partisan agenda.
UAW members and their rights
UAW members looking to protect worker pensions, health and safety at work, and the right to organize have many reasons to be concerned about who is appointed to the Supreme Court.
We said during the last presidential election that the next president would very likely appoint up to three of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices, in addition to numerous federal district and appeals court judges. So far President Bush has appointed two justices to the Supreme Court.
U.S. business interests
A conservative court would favor business interests over workers’ rights, environmental protections and consumer concerns. We should also be very alarmed at how a conservative court could erode civil rights, protections against discrimination and harassment, voting rights, free speech, and other rights and freedoms long held by Americans.
