You should feel excited.(Or unhappy if you're a fan of the judge.) The supreme court has been an enormous part of our system. So much so that people have argued for, and against, their constitutionality. But to know the significance of the court, you must understand their history.
In 1789, the first official supreme court was established. The power was placed in, not 9 justices, but 5.(In 1792 they made it 6 justices.) The Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth were the first courts but are often overlooked for there lack of groundbreaking cases and relatively short lives.
Then, in 1801, John Marshall was made Chief Justice and the court that would forever change the very court itself was formed.
The Marshall Court impacted the system in two enormous ways: one with it's ruling in Marbury v. Madison(1803). When the court established Judicial Review it not only gave the court an enormous deal of power which would create controversy in the future, but it also created the fear of court stacking.
That was not the end of The Marshall Court's rulings though. Its other significant ruling is Baron v. Baltimore(1833). This ruling helped to establish what is known as selective incorporation and is the most important cases regarding the bill off rights to ever to ever be reviewed. Of course, Selective incorporation would be used in almost every case after the ruling of Baron v. Baltimore.
Now, You're probably wondering: "All these cases were decided by 6 justices, right? When did we get 9?" Well, that gets a little messy but, it all starts in the Taney court and ends in the Chase Court.
The Taney Court started as a 6 justice court like the few before it but in 1837, the court added a seventh justice. in 1838, an eighth. And finally, a ninth in 1863. But, this was not the end of the turmoil. After Lincoln's assassination and Johnson's takeover, The congress passed the Judiciary act of 1866, which decreased the justice amount to 7. It finally went back to it's current number in 1869.
The Industrial Era courts had significant rulings, too many to count, but, they are also held in obscurity because of the times. One of the more interesting Chief justices during the times was actually once the commander-in-chief: President Taft.
In 1937 Roosevelt tried to change the numbers of the court. He tried to change the numbers from 9 to 13. His "court packing plan", As it would later be known as, failed and it remained as a shadow lurking in his career.
The last 4 courts have familiar names: Warren, Burger, Rehnquist and, currently seated, Roberts. More recently, the trend of activism in the courts has appeared. An odd change from the days of strict constitutionalists courts.
So, what do you think of when you hear that John Paul Stevens is retiring at the end of this term? Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you should know it means a lot that one of these 9 great justices will soon be leaving their seat, for the last time.
Sources: http://www.oyez.org/courts
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