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Article: Podium: An independent judiciary relies on public respect From remarks by the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court to the District of Columbia circuit judicial conference in Williamsburg
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- July 17, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2000 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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A REVIEW of the early years in the Supreme Court's history reveals
that simply because we had a written constitution, which in Article
III vested the judicial power in the Supreme Court by name, did not
mean that that Court was instantly catapulted to co-equal status with
the executive and legislative branches. Quite the contrary, its
independence and authority took years to develop.
Indeed, the Supreme Court got off to a very slow start, deciding
only about 60 cases in the first 10 years of its existence. Our first
chief justice, John Jay, was appointed a special ambassador to
England by President George Washington - while serving as chief
justice - to negotiate an important treaty ...