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Making the Case for the U.S. Supreme Court

August 4, 2010 by

[HTML1] With the impending confirmation of a new justice to the United States Supreme Court, this seems like an ideal time for a primer on the judiciary.  It’s easy for Gen Y to be confused about the jurisdiction, practices, and procedures surrounding the highest court in the country.

Our guide for this legal journey is Professor Stephen Wermiel, a Fellow in Law and Government and director of the Summer Institute on Law and Government at American University Washington College of Law.

Professor Stephen Wermiel joins Keeping Up with Gen Y to share with us the steps by which the nine Supreme Court justices decide to hear cases. He also explains why the Supreme Court’s autonomy from voter opinion not only protects us from the tyranny of the majority but also preserves our democracy for future generations.

More about Stephen Wermiel
Professor Stephen Wermiel is a Fellow in Law and Government and director of the Summer Institute on Law and Government at American University Washington College of Law.  He teaches constitutional law and seminars on the Supreme Court and on education and the Constitution.

From 1979 to 1991, Professor Wermiel was the Supreme Court correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Since 1991, he has taught law. For the last five years, he served as administrator of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, supervising 45 law students who teach constitutional law in the D.C. public high schools for a year.

He has published law review articles about judicial selection, the federal courts, news coverage of the Supreme Court, and the relationship between the Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th and 9th Circuits. His biography about the legacy of Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr., titled Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion, will be published in October.

He received a law degree from the Washington College of Law in 1982 and has been a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia since 1984. He received his B.A. from Tufts University in 1972.

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About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.