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The main chamber of the Supreme Court building acts as the public stage on which the justices perform their duties. In this space, cases are heard, decisions are passed down, and history is shaped. Cass Gilbert, the architect of the building, sought to produce a room befitting the import and gravity of the Court's proceedings. A 44-foot ceiling lends an air of grandeur to the chamber, while monumental marble architecture communicates stability, consistency, and the preservation of tradition. Both the architectural forms and the placement of furniture help to create a space that gives order to the Court's activities and that reflects the hierarchy of authority among the chamber's occupants.
The interior of the Supreme Court building continues the classical architectural forms of its exterior. Twenty-four giant marble columns line the four walls of the chamber. The use of Italian and Spanish marbles for the columns and walls makes them at once rich and dignified. Behind the justices' bench, four columns stand against a red curtain. This backdrop calls attention to the area where the justices preside, while the nine vertical lines created by the alternation of curtains and columns suggest the strength and uprightness of the Court's highest officers.
The design of the chamber, in which the justices' bench stands higher than all other seats, stresses the occupants' authority. The justices themselves sit on the same level, a symbolic statement of their equal power. However, the seating order respects the leadership of the chief justice and the seniority of the Court's other members. When court is in session, the chief justice occupies the central chair. On the right side of the chief justice sits the senior associate justice; on the left sits the justice with the next longest tenure. The remaining justices alternate sides in the order of their seniority, with the newest justices at either end of the bench.
Like the rood screen in medieval churches, a bronze railing divides the Supreme Court chamber into two sections. One side is reserved for the justices, officials of the Court, and representatives of the law. Visitors to the Court sit on the other side, with the first rows of seating set aside for specified guests, including dignitaries, invitees of the justices, and members of the press.
Friezes, or bands of low relief sculpture, line each of the four walls in the Supreme Court chamber. The work of artist Adolph A. Weinman, these marble panels represent the conceptual underpinnings of the law and portray the great lawgivers of history, among them Hammurabi, Moses, Solomon, Confucius, Muhammad, Charlemagne, Hugo Grotius, John Marshall, and Napoleon. At the center of the frieze, directly above the justices' bench, are two figures -- the Majesty of Law and the Power of Government. Between them is a tablet representing the Bill of Rights. Other figures represent the defense of the rights of the people and the defense of human rights. The frieze thus speaks to both the authority and the responsibilities of the justices.
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