Evaluate the extent to which the checks and balances between the three branches of the federal government are effective. Flashcards
Introduction - Themes
- Presidency
- Supreme Court
- Congress
Introduction - Arguments
The checks and balances between the three branches are effective as each branch has to adhere to the principles of the Constitution which provides the ultimate check
Ineffective - Presidency - Point
The president has many informal powers which give him many powers not granted within the Constitution and are difficult for the other branches to check
Ineffective - Presidency - Examples
- The President has the ability to pass executive agreements which they know will not be ratified by the Senate - Obama signed the Iran Nuclear Deal and Paris Agreement
- The President can also disregard the outcome of Supreme Court decisions. In both the case of Rasul v Bush 2004 and Hamdan v Rumsfeld in 2006, the SC ruled that Bush could not hold suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay but Bush continued to do so
Effective - Presidency - Point
The power of the President is quite heavily limited, the Supreme Court and Congress provide very effective checks on the Presidents power
Effective - Presidency - Examples
- As Article I of the Constitution gives all legislative powers to Congress, the President cannot create executive orders for new pieces of legislation
- Obama issued an executive order to stop DREAMERs being prosecuted but the 2016 Supreme Court case of United States v Texas meant the the states could block the implementation of DAPA
Ineffective - Supreme Court - Point
There is a strong argument that as the Supreme Court is unelected and the sole enforcer of the Constitution, it can work largely unchecked by the President and Congress
Ineffective - Supreme Court - Examples
- Congress does have the power to impeach Supreme Court judges, however, this has never happened. Abe Fortas simply resigned in 1969 instead of impeachment
- The Supreme Court can declare both the President and Congress unconstitutional, curbing their powers - in the Boumediene v Bush case in 2008 the Supreme Court ruled that the Military Commission Act was unconstitutional
Effective - Supreme Court - Point
It would be wrong to assume that just because the other branches cannot declare things unconstitutional, they have no effective checks on the Supreme Court
Effective - Supreme Court - Examples
- Congress has the ultimate power as they get to decide the judges that serve in the Supreme Court - in 2016, the Republican Senate refused to hear Obama’s appointment of Merrick Garland
- The President also possesses the power of the pardon - despite marijuana being illegal at federal level, Biden was able to pardon 6,500 of those with convictions
Ineffective - Congress - Point
It can be said that as the legislative branch Congress possesses a lot of power to act without effective checks from other branches
Ineffective - Congress - Examples
- Although the president is given the power of a veto, Congress has the ability to overturn the veto. Congress was able to override Trump’s veto of the NDAA in 2021
- Congress can pass an amendment to overturn a Supreme Court decision. After the outcome of the Pollock v Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co, Congress introduced the 16th Amendment which allowed Congress to levy income tax without apportioning it among the states
Effective - Congress - Point
Congress does not work unchecked - the Supreme Court in particular is very important and effective at stopping the passage of Congressional legislation
Effective - Congress - Examples
- Congress’s ability to override the president and the Supreme Court is incredibly limited. Out of over 1,000 vetos, Congress has only ever overturned 116. The 16th Amendment was from over 100 years ago
- The 2014 Hobby Lobby v Burwell overturned the clause of the Affordable Care Act which enforced that companies had to cover birth control
