The Role of Hedging in Balancing Power and Persuasion in the Judicial Context: The case of majority and dissenting opinions

As an institution, the United States Supreme Court carries out three duties (van Geel 2001). Firstly, it settles disputes between parties. As the highest appellate court in the federal judicial system, it reviews the decisions of inferior federal courts for errors of law, and it also reviews constitutional issues raised in both federal and state courts. Secondly, by ruling on what is constitutionally permissible, the Supreme Court affects public policy. Lastly, by offering an explanation as to why a specific conduct has been considered constitutionally permissible or impermissible, the Court educates the general public on acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. In fact, Supreme Court decisions are often used as an educational tool in the law classroom to illustrate certain points of law and to aid students in developing skills of legal reasoning.