VOICE ONE:
The highest court in the United States began its term in October.From now until June, it will rule on issues that affect Americans ina number of ways. I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Sarah Long. The Supreme Court is our report today on theVOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
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VOICE ONE:
Congress created the Supreme Court of the United States more thantwo-hundred years ago. Over the years the court has established manylegal traditions. Sometimes, however, the court surprises thenation.
For example, the Supreme Court usually lets lower courts makedecisions resulting from elections. However, last December theSupreme Court made an important decision about the election forpresident of the United States. The court overruled the FloridaSupreme Court in the case. A majority of Supreme Court justicesruled that some disputed ballots for president in Florida could notbe recounted. The decision made George W. Bush the winner of thepresidential election.
The Supreme Court’s action angered some Americans. Some peopledid not think the court should have ruled in the case. Others didnot think their decision was fair. But a group of newspapersrecently released a report investigating a recount of the disputedballots. Their study showed that Mister Bush almost surely wouldhave won the election even if the disputed ballots had beenrecounted.
VOICE TWO:
The Supreme Court has a chief justice and eight associatejustices. Their duty is to make sure federal and state laws agreewith the United States Constitution. The president appoints SupremeCourt justices. The Senate approves them. The justices serve for aslong as they wish.
The Supreme Court has accepted more than eighty cases that theywill decide this term. They include several important appeals aboutdisabled workers. The court also will decide major cases about thedeath sentence.
VOICE ONE:
Seventeen states that permit punishment by death also banexecution of mentally disabled people. The federal government alsobans such executions in federal cases. Last March, the Supreme Courtpostponed the execution of a condemned man in North Carolina. Thisman, Ernest Paul McCarver, was found guilty of murder. But lawyersappealed his sentence because he has very low intelligence.
The Supreme Court must decide if executing mentally disabledpeople is cruel and unusual punishment. The Eighth Amendment to theConstitution bans such punishment.
Another death sentence appeal involves a case in Virginia. WalterMickens was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. He hasappealed the decision because he says his lawyer did not provide aneffective defense. He says his lawyer failed to tell Mickens that hehad earlier acted as a lawyer for the man Mickens killed. TheSupreme Court delayed Mickens’ execution when it agreed to hear thecase.
VOICE TWO:
In Nineteen-Ninety, Congress approved a law called the Americanswith Disabilities Act. The law requires employers to provide otherwork for employees who have become disabled on the job. This lawdescribes a disability as an injury or condition that severelylimits a person’s major life activities. But lower court rulingshave not made clear what a major life activity is.
Last month, the Supreme Court heard an appeal from the Toyotaautomobile company. The company had dismissed Ella Williams from herjob at its factory in Kentucky. As part of her duties, this workercleaned five-hundred cars each day. Over time, Mizz Williamsdeveloped hand and arm injuries. She could no longer perform herduties. An appeals court ruled that Toyota had a legalresponsibility to give her a different kind of job.
Toyota, however, says it does not owe Mizz Williams a job. Thecompany says her disability does not interfere with any of her majorlife activities. Now the Supreme Court must rule what a major lifeactivity is. The court must decide what makes a person disabled.
VOICE ONE:
For each case, Supreme Court justices hear arguments by lawyerson both sides. The justices question the lawyers to get moreinformation. They read a great deal of written information about thecase. Then they discuss the case and vote. A majority of the votesof the nine justices decides what will become the law of the land.One of the justices who voted with the majority writes the opinionof the court. This opinion explains the decision made in the case.
Some justices may disagree with the majority. When that happens ajustice who disagreed writes the dissenting opinion.
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VOICE TWO:
The Supreme Court was established in Seventeen-Eighty-Nine. Itwas created as one of the three major divisions of the United Statesgovernment. The American Constitution gave the legislative division– the Congress — the power to pass laws. It gave the executivedivision — the president and other government agencies — power tocarry out these laws. And, it gave the judicial division — theSupreme Court and lower courts — the power to decide legal disputesinvolving these laws.
At first, this seemed to make the judicial division the weakestpart of the federal government. But then, in Eighteen-Oh-Three,Chief Justice John Marshall declared that the court could decide iflaws already passed by Congress were constitutional. Since thattime, the Supreme Court has played an important part in approving ordisapproving actions taken by Congress and the president.
VOICE ONE:
Most of the cases the Supreme Court considers already have beenjudged in a lower court. The Supreme Court hears appeals of thedecisions made by lower courts that involve federal and state laws.If the court agrees to re-examine a case, then its decision isfinal. It cannot be vetoed by either the president or Congress.
The president and members of Congress are elected every fewyears. To be re-elected, they must base their actions at leastpartly on what the voters want. However, Supreme Court justices areappointed for life. Their loyalty is not to voters. It is to apermanent document, the United States Constitution.
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VOICE TWO:
At different times in American history, the Supreme Court hashelped make major changes in American society. InEighteen-Ninety-Six, for example, the Supreme Court said it waslegal to have separate public places for black people and whitepeople. The Court said this was legal as long as those placesprovided equally good services. That decision was used as a reasonto permit racial separation in many American schools for almostsixty years.
However, in Nineteen-Fifty-Four, the Supreme Court said racialseparation in American schools did violate the Constitution. It saidseparate schools never could be equally good schools. That decisionhelped end racial separation in the nation’s schools. And it helpedlaunch a major movement to gain racial equality for AfricanAmericans.
VOICE ONE:
American presidents can play an important part in changing theSupreme Court. Most presidents have the chance to appoint one ormore new justices to fill the places of justices who retire or die.Presidents usually try to name justices who share their politicalbeliefs. That means presidents may leave a mark on the court thatlasts long after their own years as president have ended.
Some Supreme Courts have been conservative. President FranklinRoosevelt faced such a court when he tried to carry out economicreforms in the Nineteen-Thirties.
During the Nineteen-Fifties and Nineteen-Sixties, a verydifferent Supreme Court developed. Chief Justice Earl Warren ledthis court. It made several decisions that greatly expanded therights of accused criminals. The court also extended the right tofreedom of speech and the right to freedom of religion.
VOICE TWO:
Not all Supreme Court cases result in historic decisions. Butmany of them do. For example, some experts believe the Court may beasked to hear cases related to a new anti-terrorism law. Congresspassed the law after the attacks on the nation in September. Thelower courts may test this law, which limits some traditionalAmerican rights. Experts say the Supreme Court has theresponsibility for deciding all the important issues in Americanlife.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced byCynthia Kirk. I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Sarah Long. Join us again next week for another reportabout life in the United States on the VOA Special English program,THIS IS AMERICA.