Chapter 4 - 6/7 - Interpretations and debates

Question 1

What does the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review enable it to do?

Answer 1

Interpret the Constitution.

Question 2

What is the Supreme Court doing when it interprets the Constitution?

Answer 2

It is, in effect, amending the Constitution - this is why there it is unnecessary to keep passing formal amendments.

Question 3

What does the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review make it?

Answer 3

A political institution - they are making decisions on policy areas which are politically contentious.

Question 4

What are the reasons why the Supreme Court is a political institution?

Answer 4

• Justices are elected by a politician.
• Appointments are confirmed by politicians.
• They rule on politically contentious issues.
• Their decisions have a legislative effect.

Question 5

What are the reasons for the Supreme Court not being considered a political institution?

Answer 5

• Its members are judges, not politicians.
• It is independent.
• Judges often disappoint their nominating president.
• It makes decisions based on legal and constitutional argument, not political ideology.

Question 6

What does judicial review give the Supreme Court?

Answer 6

A quasi-legislative power.

Question 7

What do critics of activist judges describe them as doing?

Answer 7

‘legislate from the bench’

Question 8

What are the arguments against the Supreme Court having too much power?

Answer 8

• Congress can amend the Constitution to override Court decisions.
• Congress can impeach Justices.
• The Court cannot initiate cases, it must wait for them to be brought through the lower courts.
• It cannot enforce its decisions.

Question 9

What is the ‘living constitution’?

Answer 9

The view that the Constitution is continually evolving and needs to be updated by activist judges when Congress or the President fail to move with the times.

Question 10

Which current Supreme Court Justices take the ‘living’ view of the Constitution?

Answer 10

• Sonia Sotomayor
• Elena Kagan

Question 11

What is the justification for the ‘living’ view of the Constitution?

Answer 11

The Founding Fathers could not have envisaged the modern world, and with constitutional amendments virtually impossible nowadays it is down to Justices to uphold the principles of the Constitution.

Question 12

What Supreme Court rulings are examples of the ‘living’ view of the Constitution?

Answer 12

• Brown v Board of Education of Topeka
• Obergefell v Hodges
• Roe v Wade

Question 13

What are the criticisms of the ‘living constitution’ view?

Answer 13

• It ignores the purpose of having a constitution - by constantly updating at the whim of fashion it negates the clear framework it is supposed to provide.
• Its advocates are politically motivated - the Supreme Court is meant to be neutral and objective.
• It makes the court a player in the legislative process rather than the referee - it is for Congress to make new laws.

Question 14

What did Alexander Hamilton say about the Supreme Court?

Answer 14

“neither force nor will but merely judgement”.

Question 15

What is originalism?

Answer 15

The belief that the Constitution should be interpreted according to what is written and what the framers originally intended.

Question 16

What do originalists believe about changing the Constitution and society?

Answer 16

They do not think society and the Constitution should remain the same always, just that any changes should be made by politically accountable elected branches of government.

Question 17

What do originalists perceive the meaning of the Constitution as?

Answer 17

Fixed in the time of writing - they will try to understand it as it was understood at the time of writing and make a judgement based on that.

Question 18

Which Justices are originalists?

Answer 18

• Justice Clarence Thomas
• Justice Amy Coney Barret

Question 19

Which case was influenced by the originalist view?

Answer 19

Citizens United v Federal Election Commission (2010)

Question 20

What are the arguments against originalism?

Answer 20

• It is not what the Founding Fathers would have wanted.
• The ambiguity of the Constitution was designed to allow interpretation (‘cruel and unusual’ for example).
• It is not politically neutral.

Question 21

What actions can the Supreme Court take against Congress and the President?

Answer 21

It can declare Acts and actions as unconstitutional and strike them down.

Question 22

The executive and the states uphold the rulings of the Supreme Court even when they disagree with them, but what was the one exception?

Answer 22

Little Rock, 1957

Question 23

How many times has Congress used their check on the Supreme Court and amended the Constitution to override a ruling?

Answer 23

Just twice

Question 24

When was the last time the Constitution was amended to override a Supreme Court ruling?

Answer 24

1913

Question 25

Which Amendment overrode a Supreme Court ruling?

Answer 25

Sixteenth Amendment, 1913

Question 26

What did the Sixteenth Amendment do?

Answer 26

Allowed Congress to levy income taxes without apportioning them among the states.

Question 27

Which case was the Sixteenth Amendment meant to override the ruling of?

Answer 27

Pollock v Farmer’s Loan and Trust Company

Question 28

When was the Pollock v Farmers’ Loan and Trust Company case?

Answer 28

1895

Question 29

Why is Congress’ check on the Supreme Court almost obsolete?

Answer 29

It is incredibly hard to amend the Constitution.

Question 30

What are the three checks Congress has on the Supreme Court?

Answer 30

1. Impeachment
2. Amendment
3. Changing the number of judges

Question 31

What check does the president have on the power of the Supreme Court?

Answer 31

They nominate all federal judges - trial, appeal, and Supreme - and can shape the outlook of the court for years to come.

Question 32

When was there a government shutdown over Trump’s funding of a wall?

Answer 32

December 2018 - January 2019

Question 33

How long did the government shutdown last over the wall?

Answer 33

35 days - the longest in history.

Question 34

When was the case of Trump v Hawaii?

Answer 34

2018

Question 35

What was the case of Trump v Hawaii about?

Answer 35

Trump placed a travel ban on several Muslim countries.

Question 36

What was the Supreme Court ruling of Trump v Hawaii?

Answer 36

The Court ruled that the president’s power to secure the national borders was constitutional, and upheld the travel bans.