Supreme Court - Blog Post 2

The highest court in the United States of America lays the ground for deciding what is constitutional and what is not. The Supreme Court of the United States or SCOTUS for short is made up of 9 justices is responsible for evaluating laws and checking the other branches of government. 

 This court was established in 1789 by Article three of the United States constitution with the Judiciary Act of 1789 being signed by President George Washington. This Act stated that 6 justices would serve on the court until their death or their retirement. The court had originally set to assemble on February 1, 1790 in New York City at the Merchants Exchange Building but ended up having to be postponed to the next day. 

 The courts early meetings did not have any hearings, but were just as important to smooth organizational pieces. SCOTUS had its first hearing and decision on August 3, 1791 with case West v Barnes. The wearisome, financial case between a farmer and family he owed money too, had reached a decision after just one day. 

 Some of the most influential court cases have been: 

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which did not allow African-Americans who were slaves to become citizens 

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896),which continued state segregation laws Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), which provided lawyers to people who couldn't afford them 

"Mapp v. Ohio (1961), which held that evidence obtained illegally cannot be used in criminal cases 

Texas v. Johnson (1989), which found that flag burning and other potentially offensive speech is protected by the First Amendment 

Roe v. Wade (1973), which ruled that women have a right to an abortion during the first two trimesters U.S. v. Nixon (1974), which found that the President cannot use his or her power to withhold evidence in criminal trials 

Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which struck down state anti-sodomy laws 

United States v. Windsor (2013), which revoked the U.S. government’s ability to deny federal benefits to same-sex couples 

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which legalized same-sex marriage across all 50 states" (History.com) 

The Supreme Court justices are decided by the President of the United States and confirmed or denied by the United States Congress. The first Supreme Court was made up of Chief Justice John Jay, and Associate Justices John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison, and James Wilson. The number of Supreme Court justices ranged between 5 and 10 throughout its first years and eventually settled on 9 in 1869 which still remains today. 

 Source: https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts

Top 5 News Sources - Blog Post 1

 

Barstool Sports will always be my number one source of news. They have so many options of podcasts and videos for whatever one specific person wants to listen to. They have sports shows, reality shows, and help shows. Two of my favorite podcasts of theirs are "Pardon My Take" and "Chicks in the Office." They have something for everyone and is my personal favorite. 

ESPN is my second favorite source of news because I absolutely love sports. ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+ are all channels that I will play on my T.V. or laptop all the time. They have great informative shows on players, teams, and coaches and they stream the games that I watch all the time. ESPN is great because if you just want to watch sports, you are able to do that but, you also have the ability to hear much more about the game and the people involved.

Fox News is another favorite channel of mine to get news about current events and what is going on in the world. There is so much information that is packed into one episode of Fox News. One is really able to get a grasp on what is going on around the country and the world by just watching Fox one time. 

Twitter is another place where I really get a lot of my news from. It is a fast moving platform where information can change in a matter of seconds and one can still be up to date. It is a good platform because there is a possibility to turn on notifications and receive news based off of just how fast one is able to read.

The last place is get a lot of my news from is Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report is a place to be completely up to date on sports news such as trades, scores, and injuries. For me, it mostly gives information about trades in different sports about the teams that I like. This is a setting that you can add to the app and it will give news only about one's favorite teams or sports.   

Get To Know Me!

 Hey! My name is Ava Sames. Thats me ->

I am a junior at High Point University studying Sports Communications with a minor in Marketing. 

I love learning about journalism and media but I know that media is a business and I wanted to have some background that would be beneficial. 

On campus, I run my own podcast called HPU Sports Talk. That is a screenshot of my show on Spotify! 

I am really proud of my journey to start the podcast and where I am planning on taking it. "To the moon," they say! 

My goal is to one day work for Barstool Sports and be a part of a show. 

Some fun quirky information about me is that I absolutely quesadillas. But, quesadillas are not only what you get from Moe's. You can make a delicious breakfast quesadilla with eggs, peppers, and mushrooms. Or, you can have an American quesadilla with buffalo chicken and provolone! The possibilities are endless.