Early Cases

Question 1

Baker v. Carr

Answer 1

Justiciability Doctrines: Political Questions

Factors:

A textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department
A lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving the question
The impossibility of deciding the question without making an initial policy determination of a kind clearly inappropriate for judges to make
The impossibility of a court’s undertaking independent resolution without expressing lack of the respect due to coordinate branches of the government
An unusual need for questioning adherence to a political decision already made
The potential embarrassment from multifarious pronouncements by various departments on one question