Constitution + SC Flashcards
what are civil rights?
basic rights that protect individuals’ freedom from infringement
where is the power of the SC established?
article III of constitution
what were the FF unsure to give SC?
judicial review
what allowed SC to get JR?
vagueness of constitution
what case gave the SC judicial review?
Marbury v Madison (1803)
what does the bill of rights give the SC?
a set of rights to protect as guardians of the constitution
give an example of a case of the SC protecting rights via JR?
DC v Heller (2008)
what was the case of DC v Heller?
- 2nd amendment case that overturned ban on handguns in home in DC
- law from 1979 which said gun in cabinet, ammo in separate cabinet
- ruled it was unconstitutional as it infringed on 2nd amendment rights
how did DC v Heller show the SC protecting rights?
- ensured citizens had right to bear arms
- power from constitution allowed them to do so
what power does SC not have?
to bring about its own cases
what does SC have to rely upon in order to protecting rights?
have to rely upon individuals filing litigation against laws or actions
how many cases do SC hear a year?
80
how many requests to SC get a year?
7000
how did DC v Heller show limited power of SC?
law was from 1979 - 30 years of infringed rights
what does the difficult amendment process mean?
rights are well protected
what is the requirements for the amendment process?
- 2/3 both houses of Congress
- 3/4 state legislatures
why is it difficult to change constitution?
wide political spectrum in US
why does the difficult amendment process mean SC can protect rights?
instead of amending constitution take cases to SC to rule upon rights
when was citizens untied v FEC?
2010
what happened in citizens united v FEC?
- against bipartisan campaign reform act (2002)
- limited donations to candidates directly
- ruled unconstitutional as limited free speech
why does citizens united v FEC show constitution to allow SC to protect rights?
- without process law would have been put into constitution
- by law meant it could be appealed to SC so they could protect the right
how does the hard amendment process not protect rights?
certain new rights cannot be protected by the SC
give an example of a new right that is not in the constitution?
gay rights - widely accepted in society
why would gay rights not enter constitution?
still conservative republicans who are against and traditional states like Texas
