The Supreme Court Explained by Constitutional Lawyer | A Conversation with Thomas A. Berry

Nine appointed justices. A lifetime position. Decisions that shape the entire country.
 

Barbara Galletti
Senior Producer, Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org
Thomas A. Berry

Thomas Berry is the director of the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and editor in chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. Before joining Cato, he was an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation and clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

In this episode, we sit down with constitutional lawyer Thomas A. Berry to break down how the Supreme Court really works. If you’ve ever wondered how the highest court in the United States shapes American law, this conversation is for you.

We cover:

00:09: What Is the Supreme Court?

00:50: What Kind of Cases Does the Supreme Court Take?

01:33: What Kind of Answers Do We Get From the Supreme Court?

02:19: The Relationship Between State Law and Federal Law

03:26: The Common Law System

05:11: Common Law vs. Precedent

06:59: What the Framers Intended for the Role of the Supreme Court

09:57: Marbury v. Madison

10:40: The Supreme Court’s Role in Checks and Balances Between Branches of Power

14:14: Accusations of Judicial Tyranny

16:33: Is There a “Right Answer” to Legal Decisions? Realists vs. Positivists

17:44: The Lifetime Appointment of Supreme Court Judges

19:53: Diverse Political Views Inside the Supreme Court

20:43: Constitutional Remedies

22:21: The Opinion of the Court, Concurrences and Dissents

24:39: The Success of the American System

26:01: What to Expect from the 2026 Supreme Court Decisions

Thomas Berry is the director of the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and editor in chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. Before joining Cato, he was an attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation and clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.