Supreme Court Springboard Blog

 Jacob Robertson

Media Law and Literacy

Supreme Court

          The Supreme Court is the head of the Judicial Branch in the US government. They are the highest court and are the end all be all for laws in the United States. The evaluate the constitutionality of these laws while also serving as a corrective measure for cases that may have gone wrong. This branch of the government has the power to check the other two branches and has done so multiple times in history. Serving on the Supreme Court as a supreme court justice is one of the highest judicial honors that a person can have, and they can hold this office as long as they want or until they are impeached. Since 1869 there have been nine Supreme Court Justices, including one chief justice that presides over the others. All of these justices are nominated by the President and then after that are confirmed by Congress. Before 1869, back when the Supreme Court was just established under article three of the US Constitution in 1789, there were only six supreme court justices. During the early days of the Supreme Court they didn't really take any cases, focusing more on organizational issues within the newly established government. The first actual decision that the Supreme Court handed down happened in 1791 in the case of West vs Barnes, a relatively simple case between a farmer and a family that he owed debt to. The Supreme Court has weighed in on all types of cases and issues that have happened during the history of the United States, everything from civil rights issues throughout the entire history of this nation to issues with government officials abusing their power. The Supreme Court has provided guidance on major issues throughout the history of this nation, both good and bad, and has been an important factor of the development of the United States into what it is today.

News Outlets That I Use

Jacob Robertson

8/26/20

Media Law and Literacy

News Outlets That I Use

          One of the most trusted sources of news that I use is the Washington Post. Even though the Washington Post sometimes leans to the left they still provide accurate information and give me a differing political view. Having a left leaning view is important because it shows me criticisms of things or people that I might not hear about on other right leaning news outlets. The Washington Post provides accurate information on world events and gives a left leaning political view. https://www.washingtonpost.com/

          Another one of the sources that I use for news is The New York Times. The New York Times is one of the most trusted newspapers in America, and I follow them on the news app on my Iphone to try and keep up to date with what is happening in the world. The New York Times may sometimes lean toward the left, but they still provide incredibly accurate information the majority of the time. https://www.nytimes.com/

          One of the news sources that I use for information on the economy and stock markets is The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal provides incredibly accurate information on the stock market and has interesting articles with opinions on the economy that I enjoy reading. I would recommend this news source to anyone trying to learn about the economy or just business in general. https://www.wsj.com/

          Another new source that I use frequently even if they do tend to lean to the right on most issues is Fox News. Having a right perspective during election time is important to me because they tend to lean towards keeping things like freedom of speech untouched as well as the right to bear arms. I use this news source to give me a different political perspective most of the time. They also have lots of information on everything from the disasters that are happening on the west coast to the new border policies. https://www.foxnews.com/ 

          Another really frequent new source that I use is Associated Press News. I use Associated Press because of the wide variety of stories that can be found on their website. From election news to global events, the information that this news source provides is accurate and encompasses a large number of topics. https://apnews.com/