We stumbled upon Katie Couric’s recent video interview of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in which she addresses (among other topics) her 35-page dissent to the recent Supreme Court’s opinion in the Hobby Lobby case.  And it got us thinking that it may be helpful to legal consumers to understand the role of the Supreme Court of the United States in the judicial system.

The official website of the Supreme Court, supremecourt.gov, contains a wealth of information, including an address by Chief Justice Hughes about the Court’s role in the judiciary.  The site also includes information about the Court’s procedures and audio of oral arguments before the Court that are made public at the end of each week the Court is in session.

C-SPAN also has a website that contains information about the Court, supremecourt.c-span.org.  On that site, legal consumers can find judicial interviews, historical information about the Court, and commentary by Supreme Court “experts.”

To truly understand how the judicial system works, one must understand the judicial hierarchy and the Supreme Court’s role.  The above links are a good place to start.