Civil Rights

Question 1

Compare the USSC and UKSC regarding protection of rights and statute law.

Answer 1

• US - SC can derogate (circumvent) statute law - e.g. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld - Military Commissioners Act 2006 were unconstitutional
• UK - statute law is superior to common law - judges are bound by it - the judiciary merely acts as a persuasion for parliament - e.g. R (Anderson) v. Secretary of the Home Department

Question 2

Compare the USSC and UKSC regarding their ability to change legislation.

Answer 2

• US - SC is labelled ‘quasi-legislature’ - e.g. Plessy v. Ferguson - ‘separate but equal’ clause - later the point of contention in Brown v. Board
• UK - SC judges can only rule laws incompatible with the HRA ‘98

Question 3

Give one way the philosophical nature of the bench jeopardises citizen’s rights.

Answer 3

• Roe v. Wade (1973) was decided by the liberal ‘Warren’ court - however, may see a reversal due to the conservative Roberts court.
• UK - judges are free from political coercion

Question 4

Give three ways civil rights campaigns can be said to be more influential in the US than UK.

Answer 4

• Unlimited campaign spending - Citizens United v. FEC removed many of the limits on organisations
• Frequently use the courts - SC can strike down incompatible laws - ban on immigrants and transgender soldiers were halted in 2017.
• Some pressure groups have unparalleled influence in the US political system - e.g. NRA successfully opposed all gun legalisation between 2012 and 2016

Question 5

How do tight electoral finance laws make UK civil rights campaigns less influential than in the US?

Answer 5

• Maximum of £500 spending for a third-party to support or oppose a candidate (Bowman v. United Kingdom).
• Must rely on other methods in UK - lobbying of legislators to change civil rights law.
• Although trade unions make significant political contributions - e.g. Unite pays an annual affiliation fee of £1 million to the Labour party.

Question 6

Compare the rights protection of civil rights in the US and UK regarding the judiciary.

Answer 6

US: - Judicial interpretation amendments ensures rights are protected - e.g. Texas v. United States - prohibiting an individual from burning US flag was violation of 1st amend. rights

UK: - Judicial review has increased recently (4000 in 2003 - 15,000 in 2013) .

Parliamentary sovereignty means decisions may be overturned by parliament.