Checks and Balances on the Supreme Court

Question 1

Why are checks needed?

Answer 1

Because its power is so great and it has become a quasi-legislative body

Question 2

How does the Supreme Court create legislation?

Answer 2

through its power of judicial review

Question 3

Not only are justices very important but…

Answer 3

…they are very important for a long time

Question 4

What are the four checks an balances that congress has over the Supreme Court?

Answer 4

1) Confirm or reject appointments
2) Decide number of justices on court
3) impeachment
4) Consitutional amendments

Question 5

What does the senate power to confirm or reject appointments go some way to preventing?

Answer 5

Abuses of power int he court

Question 6

Since when have congress set the number of justices on the court at 9?

Answer 6

1869

Question 7

If the number of the justices on the court were reduced, what would happen?

Answer 7

Each justice would become more powerful

Question 8

Why did FDR’s plan to raise the number of supreme court justices to 15 fail?

Answer 8

It would give him the power to appoint loads at cone

Question 9

How does the Senate impeach?

Answer 9

If the house passes an article of impeachment then the Senate holds a trial

Question 10

How does the Senate find a justice guilty?

Answer 10

⅔ majority

Question 11

What would they find a justice guilty for?

Answer 11

Misconduct of illegal behaviour

Question 12

Impeachment has never happened for a Supreme Court justice, but Abe Fort did what?

Answer 12

resigned before he could be impeached

Question 13

How is constitutional amendment a check on the court’s power?

Answer 13

Congress can effectively undo the ruling of the court with which they disagree

Question 14

Show how Congress can effectively undo the ruling of the court with which they disagree

Answer 14

1895 income tax was declared unconditional, however congress passed the 16th amendment in 1913 to give themselves this power

Question 15

Give two examples of how it is hard for congress to check the court’s power through amendment

Answer 15

Flag during and school prayer have both failed

Question 16

What are the three potential checks and balances that a president has over a court?

Answer 16

1) Nominations
2) Throw his wight behind or against a specific decision
3) Power of pardon

Question 17

What are the two things a president looks for in a justice?

Answer 17

For them to be of a similar ideology and for them to be of good character

Question 18

What means that the court is fairly balanced, normally?

Answer 18

Infrequency of nomination opportunity and the 2 party system

Question 19

What will the impact of a president throwing his weight behind or against a specific decision do?

Answer 19

It won’t actually change the decision but, if he’s popular, change public option and play on the minds of furniture decisions

Question 20

What happened in 1954 that shows a president behind his cause?

Answer 20

eisenhower was behind Brown vs Board of Education 1954, sending in troops into enforce desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas

Question 21

Give an example of a President opposing a Supreme Court decision

Answer 21

Bush senior opposed decision to allow flag burning in Texas vs Johnson 1989 calling it wrong, dead wrong

Question 22

What power does the President also hold that serves as an effective check on the judiciary

Answer 22

pardon

Question 23

Another check, what two powers do the judiciary lack?

Answer 23

enforcement and initiation

Question 24

What does the lack of initiation power mean?

Answer 24

Cases must come to the court and it cannot rule on hypothetical issues

Question 25

What can the public check the court with?

Answer 25

their opinion

Question 26

How is public option a check on the court?

Answer 26

They are mindful that if they become too unpopular then their legitimacy could be questioned

Question 27

What 1992 case shows the court being mindful of public opinion?

Answer 27

Planned Parenthood of South Eastern pennsylvania vs Casey 1992 where they were careful not to upset decisions

Question 28

What balance must they strike relating to public opinion?

Answer 28

They must strike a balance between being seen to do their job interpreting the constitution and being mindful of the democratic majority. Unelected though they are, they still rely on public support to maintain their unelected position

Question 29

How does the constitution provide a check on judicial power?

Answer 29

some areas of the constitution are unambiguous and thus not able to be interpreted, you can’t interpret what people already understand

Question 30

The fact that the judiciary are checked by the constitution means what?

Answer 30

they are checked by their reasons for existence

Question 31

Give an example in 1954 of how the court checked itself?

Answer 31

Brown vs Board of Education overturned Plessy vs Ferguson 1896

Question 32

Give an example of how the court checked itself in regard to the death penalty

Answer 32

in 1989 stanford vs kentucky, the court ruled that states could execute 16 and 17 years olds. In 2005 Roper vs. Simmons, they ruled that such executions were unconstitutional