United States Supreme Court Building

The facade of the Supreme Court Building after renovation

The Supreme Court Building is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States and is located in Washington, DC east at 1 First Street, NE, one block of the Capitol. The building belongs to the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol. In 1987, the Supreme Court Building named a National Historic Landmark.

History

Before Washington, D.C. was founded as the capital, resided the Government of the United States for a short time in New York City, New York. There, the Supreme Court met in the Merchants' Exchange Building. As Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1790 was capital, the Court went there first in the Independence Hall and a little later (1791 ) in the Old City Hall.

After the government of the United States had settled in Washington, the court met there from the year 1800 in a small basement room at the United States Capitol. Here it remained until 1935, with the exception of the period from 1812 to 1819, when the Court as a result of the British invasion and the destruction of the Capitol in the British -American War Washington, DC had to leave.

In 1810, the Supreme Court, the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol for the first time involved. After the enlargement of the Senate, whose premises were gradually too small. 1860 moved the Court to then in the Old Senate Chamber, as the hall was now called. Here he remained until its move to the present building. In 1929, Chief Justice William Howard Taft successfully argued for a spatial separation of Congress and Supreme Court, as this is an independent branch of government.

Since 4 May 1987, the United States Supreme Court Building, a National Historic Landmark.

Temple of Justice

The Supreme Court Building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert. It is 28 meters high and has 5 floors above the ground. The foundation stone was laid on 13 October 1932, the whole building completed in 1935. The cost was $ 9.74 million and were thus $ 94,000 under budget.

The exterior of the building is made of marble quarried in Vermont, the non-public courtyards consist of Georgia marble. Most of the interiors are lined with Alabama marble, with the exception of the courtroom, has been processed in the Spanish marble. For the 24 columns of the courtroom came for Gilbert only the marble from the Montarrenti quarries near Siena, Italy in question. Therefore, he asked in May 1933 the Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini for help, so that the marble would also in quality, which had been submitted as an official model delivered.

Not all judges were impressed by the new facilities, particularly from the courtroom. They thought they were far too pompous and inappropriate.

The west facade of the building, the front of the court opposite the Capitol, has the words " Equal Justice Under Law " is to be read while on the back the saying " Justice the Guardian of Liberty ."

The Supreme Court Building includes:

• In the basement: maintenance facilities, garage, post office.
• On the ground floor: Information Office, office, press office, exhibition halls, cafeteria, gift shop and administrative offices.
• On the first floor: Large hall, conference hall, all the judges offices except the offices of Judge Ginsburg, who has chosen a more spacious office on the second floor.
• On the second floor: the office of Judge Ginsburg, that the reporter of decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States office, the law firm and the offices of magistrates. Moreover, the dining and reading rooms of the judges are on this floor.
• On the third floor: the court library
• On the fourth floor health club, including a basketball court with the nickname "Highest Court in the Land"

In addition, located in the building, the Supreme Court Police. This service is independent of the Capitol Police, and was founded in 1935 to protect the building and its staff.

Artistic equipment

Cass Gilbert's design for the building and its environment included a large number and variety of real and allegorical figures.

• The base of the flagpoles and the bronze doors at the front and back of John Donnelly.
• East Pediment - Justice, the Gurdian of Liberty by Hermon Atkins MacNeil
• West pediment - Equal Justice Under the Law by Robert Ingersoll Aitken. This work contains both the portrait of Cass Gilbert, third from left, as well as the self-portrait of Robert Ingersoll Aitken, third from right.
• Seated figures - The Authority of Law ( south side) and The Contemplation of Justice ( north side) by James Earle Fraser
• Friezes in the courtroom - The frieze on the south wall shows legislators from the time before the birth of Christ: Menes, Hammurabi, Moses, Solomon, Lycurgus, Solon, Draco, Confucius, and Augustus. The frieze of the north wall shows legislators from the time after the birth of Christ: Drakon, Mohammed, Charlemagne, King John, Louis IX. of France, Hugo Grotius, Sir William Blackstone, John Marshall and Napoleon. The figure of Muhammad has caused controversy.
• Great Hall - busts of each of the Chief Justice of the United States in niches on either side of the hall. This marble busts are regularly approved by Congress. The bust by Chief Justice Rehnquist was the last bust extremity of the north side of the hall, just to the left of the door to the courtroom, set up.

Visit the courtroom

All visitors of the Court must pass through a metal detector, any bags will be screened. Cameras are generally permitted in the building, in the courtroom, however, all recording devices for sound and video recordings are prohibited. If the court is not in session, visitors can see the Great Hall and the public areas on the ground floor, including the cafeteria and a small cinema where a documentary about the history of the Court is shown entering. Regularly be guided tours of the courtroom, which is not usually accessible offered. For this purpose, there is a certain area next to the doors of the courtroom.

If the court in session, the building is not open to the public. The hearings will take place from early October to late April every two weeks. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays there at 10:00 to 11:00 clock one hour consultation. If required, is also met in the afternoon. The meeting dates will be published on the Court's website. Interested visitors get in the court office numbered tickets, but serve only as a placeholder and does not guarantee access. Although the courtroom can accommodate 250 spectators, because in practice but often larger student or attend official groups and do not leave many visitors the first hearing the hall, the places for the second hearing are very tight. Shortly before the first hearing share the inspectors on the amount in two rows. One for visitors with tickets who wish to attend the entire hearing and a number of visitors that can be left at five minute intervals at the back. Visitors must rise when the judges enter the courtroom or leave and have become absolutely still. Sleepy, noisy or otherwise disturbing visitors will be immediately removed from plainclothes officers.