BLOG #2: SCOTUS

SCOTUS

The United states uses a dual system of courts which is split into state and federal jurisdictions. The Supreme Court or as it is also known SCOTUS is a part of the United States’ justice system. It is the highest court in the federal courts system. After reading the article on history.com, I learned new information on the Supreme Court. 

Most of the information I learned from this article consists of the information on the member of the Supreme Court. I did not know that article three in the constitution was what began the process of establishing the Supreme Court. The first thing that I was intrigued by is that over the years they changed the number of members from five through ten, six times over the years; however, most recently congress set the seat at nine and that is where it has remained. The nine current members are chief of justice John Roberts, Jr. and associate justices Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch.

I was most surprised by the fact that the members of the supreme court serve from the time that they are inducted after being approved by the U.S. Senate until they either die or retire. This length of time has been at the longest 34 years. This record holder was Chief Justice John Marshall who handled the case of Marbury v. Madison.

The most important take-away from this article about the Supreme court is how the justices are selected and what the purpose of the Supreme court is. The selection process of justices is done through nomination of the president and approval or denial by the U.S. Senate. Their responsibility is to evaluate the constitutionality of all the laws within the united states because they have ultimate jurisdiction over all the laws.

 This article opened my eyes and gave me a better understanding of exactly what the Supreme Court is responsible for. I knew they handled cases pertaining unconstitutionality. Originally, I thought they were selected by the people of the U.S. but my thoughts now on the Supreme Court have shifted and I give them more credit because if both the president and U.S. senate have to approve of the justice nominee, they have to be coming from a credible background, 

Blog #1: Sources

 My TOP 5 News Sources

1.    Instagram

I use social media often for getting short updates on what is going on in the news. Most commonly, I will use Instagram because it is easy for me to navigate. I use Instagram almost every day and I am able to get news while catching up on the lives of my family friends and peers. As a Criminal Justice student, I have found that there are some issues with getting news from Instagram. One is that it filters out interests with certain mathematical formulas which causes only like-minded people to be brought together. This leads to no new viewpoints being brought in and easily allows people to believe everything read on Instagram such as disinformation which is a prominent problem in this generation.

2. Snapchat Discover

Sticking with the topic of Social Media, I use Snapchat discover. I really enjoy this because I learn a lot from ten-second videos that quickly catch me up on what is going on in the world as of the last 24 hours. Most news sources today focus a lot on politics and I do believe that is important in society to educate the youth, but I also think that Snapchat is a good source because there are many different stories which can focus on other information such as what is going on in the world of celebrities, the media industry and updating the viewers on information worldwide not just in the US.

3. Fox News

For political news I often watch Fox News, it has always been the news station in my house hold. They are a counterbalance to liberal, and progressive ideologies. However, you need to know what those people are thinking too so it’s helpful to read their views as well to have a healthy balanced perspective and argument. People also need to recognize all news stations, including Fox News, are programs with personalities with opinions who editorialize with exaggeration to keep and grow their audience. 

4. Apple News

I often do not choose to look at apple news, but I get notifications that pop up on my laptop or phone from time to time which interests me enough to take a peek on what is happening in the world. I like this source because it is not focused only on the United States. Apple news gives updates on a larger scale and big events that happen in other countries as well as events occurring in the united states.

5. The Ben Shapiro Show

My all-time favorite news source for political information especially is the Ben Shapiro Show. The host of this podcast, Ben Shapiro, is a republican however he will agree with democrats as well. What is more important for him is to get the information out, he only uses facts even if it goes against his political view. He also plays real news clips and he analyzes or breaks down false truths which is also known as “fake news”. He is all about the facts and does not fall into the media’s narrative regardless if it’s on the right or left point of view.