Supreme Court + Constitution; For this paper I had to discuss the problems with the supreme court today and it's role in interpreting the constitution.

Today there are many issues surrounding the Supreme Court. In fact, the Supreme Court has been the center of controversy since the signing of the constitution. The justices of the Supreme Court have carved out for themselves the role of serving as final arbiters of the constitution. The Supreme Court is truly, "the highest in the land." For this reason the decisions of the court establish precedents that bind all the courts underneath it. Meaning, all the other courts must bring their decisions into line with the Supreme Court's interpretation of the constitution. Which leads to the main issue I'm going to address in this essay: How should the court interpret the Constitution?

First I would like point out the role the Supreme Court plays in our everyday. It is the Supreme Court that explained to Americans why segregated schools denied African Americans the equal protection of laws and why coerced confessions denied criminal defendants the right to a fair trial.

U.S. Supreme Court building.

United States Supreme Court building.

Florida Supreme Court Building, Tallahassee, Flori...

It also has set the standard for new rights of today's times; such has abortion, by citing women's right to privacy. Recently, the court played a major role in a presidential election by stopping the recount in Florida and effectively giving Bush the election and presidency. This demonstrates that the court also plays a role in politics as well. So now maybe you can see how important and instrumental this court plays in our government.

How should the court interpret the Constitution? There are two major positions in this debate. One is the conservative and the other is the liberal. Edwin Messe has the leader of the Conservative argument. Messe believed that the court conveniently construed the Constitution "as an empty vessel into which each generation may pour it's passion and prejudice." As a result, the court decisions represented...