Evaluate the extent to which the Supreme Court can rightly be described as a political institution (30 marks)

Question 1

arguments for : nomination and ideology

Answer 1

• justices are nominated and confirmed by politicians in the Senate
• the president will nominate a candidate sympathetic to their agenda, meaning nominees have to involve themselves in politics
• George Bush nominated Alito who shared the same ideologies as him over abortion
• Obama nominated Sotomayor from her work of The People’s Justice
• Obama nominated Kagan as she was the general attornet in the administration during Obamacare

Question 2

arguments for: controversial issues

Answer 2

• e.g Roe V Wade determined abortion as being legal
• the Supreme Court make decisions on controversial issues politicians tend to stay away from
• this affects the laws in many states e.g Texas where abortion laws were strict
• the SC settled the outcome of the 2000 presidential elections between Bush and Gore due to controversy, which led to Bush winning

Question 3

argument against: controversial issues

Answer 3

• most cases the SC deal with are not political, and they only hear cases that are in relation to the law
• therefore it can be seen that the Supreme Court is only a judicial institution as they mostly deal with issues with law rather than political disputes

Question 4

arguments for: independence

Answer 4

• justices may rule against their own preferences
• Texas V Johnson: majority opinion was that it supported the right to burn the flag as a part of freedom of speech, and even though kennedy agreed, the SC preference was against it
• this shows they make decisions based on their own desire