Watch The OverExplainer: What In The World Does A Supreme Court Justice Do Anyway?

This is The OverExplainer, ESSENCE’s video series where Danielle Young takes a topic and breaks it down. Did you know there’s no qualifications or rules in order to become a Supreme Court Justice? Yeah, that’s probably why someone like Brett Kavanaugh could “earn” such a high position. Despite everything that pointed to Kavanaugh needing to crawl back into whatever cave he crawled out of, he was confirmed as a United States Supreme Court Justice. From damning sexual assault allegations to the need for anger management, former president Jimmy Carter and I agree: “This man is unfit to be a Supreme Court Justice. But, because this is America, Kavanaugh has a seat at this honorable table.” How did he get here? Short answer: privilege. Longer answer: He was nominated by your president, Donald Trump. However, he didn’t act alone. The Senate votes to confirm the nominee. So they have a hand in Kavanaugh’s confirmation as well. But what exactly does a Supreme Court Justice do? The Supreme Court is the final judge for cases involving laws of Congress and The Constitution. They strike down any laws that violate The Constitution. Basically, the Supreme Court has the power to check the president and Congress. But who gon’ check them boo?! Check out this week’s The OverExplainer, where I break down the position of Supreme Court Justice.