The Supreme Court: the 'least dangerous' branch of government?
Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriages gather outside the US Supreme Court waiting for its decision on April 28, 2014 in Washington, DC.
MLADEN ANTONOV | AFP | Getty Images
Today is the opening day of the Supreme Court's fall term. Harvard law and history professor Annette Gordon-Reed is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and this hour in a Chautauqua Lecture she explores the origins, and the evolution, of the nation's highest court.
Alexander Hamilton called it "the least dangerous" branch of government.
She titled her lecture, "The Supreme Court: Hamilton's vision vs. reality."
Annette Gordon-Reed is a professor of law, and a professor of history, at Harvard University. She spoke this summer at the 2017 Chautauqua Lecture series held at the Chautauqua Institution in New York.
To listen to her speech, click the audio player above.