US Supreme Court Building

December 26th, 2009 |

Author: Michelle Lisa

Address: 1 First Street Northeast, Washington DC washington-supreme-court-building-washington-d-c-dc165

Architect: Cass Gilbert (he is best known for designing the Woolworth building in New York)

Height: 92 feet, or five floors

Construction began: October 13, 1932

Construction completed: 1935, It took 3 years

Cost to build: $9.74 million

Made of: Marble, mostly from Vermont, Georgia, and Alabama, but the marble for the 24 columns inside the courtroom were ordered special from Italy.

What is inside:

Basement: Maintenance, parking garage, mailroom

Ground floor: Cafeteria, gift shop, clerk’s office

2nd floor: The Great Hall, the courtroom, conference room, all of the judge’s chambers (except for one)

3rd floor: 1 judges chamber (she picked the one on the 3rd floor because it was bigger), the office of the decision reporter, legal office, law clerks offices, dining room, reading room

4th floor: library

5th floor: gym and basketball court

What is this building used for?

Inside there is only one courtroom, but it is the most powerful court in the whole country. If a case has already gone to trial somewhere else and nobody can seem to figure out what is fair, the case will go to the Supreme Court to solve the problem.

Why is it important?

When the colonists decided they wanted to become a country, the leaders got together and wrote The Constitution to make sure everyone was treated fairly. Each of the 50 states has its own law, but they all have to follow the laws of the country, too. Sometimes a law will be written in such a confusing way nobody can understand exactly what it means. The justices who work in the Supreme Court do not make new laws, they have the job of figuring out what the law says, and if the law is fair. The Supreme Court is there to make sure every person is guaranteed his or her constitutional rights. If a person has had a trial in another court, but the judge couldn’t make a decision, or it doesn’t seem like the decision was fair, the case will finally end up in the Supreme Court so that the judges who work there can make a final decision. All of the other courts in America have to follow what the Supreme Court says. It is important that all Americans, rich or poor, have equality. The Supreme Court makes sure that some people aren’t treated worse just because they are a certain color or don’t have a lot of money. Even The President has to listen to what the Supreme Court rules.