Judicial Powers Flashcards
Marbury V. Madison
Adams (federalist) gives Marbury ajudicial appointment, left officebeforeit got
delivered. Jefferson (antifederalist) comes into office as President, refuses togive
Marshall his appointment. (it was signed/sealed,butnot delivered)
narrowholding: Congress cannotexpandthescopeof theSupremeCourt’s jurisdiction
broad: SupremeCourthas thepower of judicial reviewoverCongress (thisis theholding
thathas beenfollowed)
Supreme Court gives itself the sole power of judicial review
Counter Majoritarian Argument
That when theSupremeCourtstrikes down astatuteit is strikingdown apieceof legislation that camefrom “wethepeople”
Judiciary is supposedto exercisejudgment, not bemakingpolitical decisions—itis not an electedbody likeCongress is, andthereforenot politically accountable
Necessary and Proper Clause
Congress is given the power to “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution “the specific powers.”
Let the end be legitimate and all means which are appropriate
Determining if the end is legitimate is a question for the Court
Courts must consider whether the end is connected to one of the enumerated powers of Congress
Determining if the means are necessary is a question for Congress
If the means appear to be reasonable, the Court will find the statute constitutional
Calder V. Bull (Natural Law)
Chase: There is an unwritten Constitution, consisting of principles of natural law, which is enforceable by the court. A statute can be invalidated if it is inconsistent with natural law
Iredell: The Courts cannot strike down laws based only upon the principles of natural law. The Court must evaluate the law in accordance with the Constitution; regardless of the moral consequences. This is the conventional understanding of the court.
Martin V. Hunter’s Lessee
The appellate power of the Supreme Court extends to federal question cases pending in state courts. Two policy reasons for this decision:
Uniformity of decisions throughout the entire US
State prejudices – state courts are more likely to rule in favor of state citizens. State courts are also likely to giver greater weight to state interests than national interests. Also, state judges may be more susceptible to political influence, since they have to run for re-election, whereas federal court judges are appointed.
Concerns of the framers of the Constitution
- Tyranny
- Protect Individual liberty
- Control the factional spirit and the power of representatives. Work as a safeguard against faction tyranny
- System of checks and balances
New Originalism (Original Meaning)
Similar to Textualism– focuses on the original public meaning of the Constitution’s text. The relevant question is what the average members of the public would have understood at that time of its adoption of the text to mean.
Natural Law
a system of right or justice held to be common to all humans and derived from nature rather from the rules of society. Can be understood universally through human reason. Not explicitly in the Constitution
Moral Arguments
the view that judges should interpret legal materials to make them sensible and good rather than senseless and bad
Tradition
courts must interpret law to express values that are deeply in our nation’s history.
Common Law and consensus
the view that constitutional law is a common law process in which judgments emerge from particular cases rather than from text or history. On this view, the meaning of the Constitution is not fixed at the time of framing, but rather evolves with time.
Representation Reinforcement
Under this view, courts are obligated to enforce unambiguous provisions in the Constitution. When interpreting ambiguous provisions, however, the Court should read them in light of the Constitution’s general commitment to democratic representation, but not to recognize or create fundamental rights unrelated to representation. This position would support decisions protecting minorities and rights of access to the political process.
