Judicial Review

Question 1

The original meaning of the Constitution must control
Law has a fixed meaning
Without a fixed meaning, unelected judges can overthrow the will of the people
Preserves the limited role, and thus legitimacy, of the judiciary
Constitutional meaning need not change to reflect current values, as elections and amendments can fill that role

Answer 1

Originalism

Question 2

Belief that constitutional meaning can change over time
Looks to a range of sources, including original meaning, precedent, state and social practices and values
Originalism is indeterminate and does not seriously limit judicial discretion
An evolving constitution is needed to preserve constitutional legitimacy
There is no justification for allowing the dead hand of the past to bind the present
On some issues, no one is an originalist (free speech, religion, some aspects of due process and equal protection, etc.)
Often, the justices’ own dispositions are much better indicators of votes than the their favored method of interpretation

Answer 2

Living Constitutionalism

Question 3

power to declare statutes unconstitutional

Answer 3

Judicial Review

Question 4

The most important—and controversial—power that the federal courts exercise is the power

Answer 4

Judicial Review

Question 5

is necessary to enforce the limitations placed on Congress

Answer 5

Judicial Review

Question 6

is implicit in the grant of judicial power to the Court

Answer 6

Judicial Review

Question 7

Textual commitment to another branch
Lack of judicial standards
Involves an initial policy decision unfit for the judiciary
Need for respect to coordinate branches and their decisions

Answer 7

Political Question Factors

Question 8

A controversy is ____________ if there is a textually demonstrable commitment of an issue to a coordinate branch of government or a lack of judicially manageable standards for resolving the controversy.

Answer 8

nonjusticiable

Question 9

is an issue must be decided by a political branch of government

Answer 9

Political Question Doctrine

Question 10

When the Court finds a political question, it finds that the case is nonjusticiable

Answer 10

The case is dismissed without reaching the merits

Question 11

a suit instituted according to the regular course of judicial procedure.
the existence of present or possible adverse parties, whose contentions are submitted to the court for adjudication.

Answer 11

Case

Question 12

is less comprehensive than case, and includes only suits of a civil nature.

Answer 12

Controversy

Question 13

A suit instituted according to regular judicial procedure, with adverse parties who are submitting contentions for the Court’s adjudication

Answer 13

case or controversy

Question 14

Do we have adverse parties?
Are the parties asking the Court to resolve a dispute over their own rights?
How can the plaintiffs get the relief they seek?

Answer 14

case or controversy

Factors

Question 15

An action filed in federal court not only must have the proper hallmarks of adversity, but also must be filed and litigated at a time that ensures that the case or controversy between the parties is sufficiently live.

Answer 15

Ripeness

Question 16

To determine if the case is ripe for review, courts consider:

Answer 16

hardship to the plaintiff if the court does not hear the case
fitness of the issue for judicial consideration

Question 17

claims in which the parties no longer have any meaningful and concrete stake.

Answer 17

Mootness

Question 18

To have standing a plaintiff must allege

Answer 18

Personal injury (“actual or threatened” not “abstract” or conjectural”)

Fairly traceable to the defendant’s allegedly illegal conduct; and

Likely to be redressed by the requested relief

Question 19

[I]njury in fact, by which we mean an invasion of a legally protected interest that is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical

Answer 19

Personal injury (“actual or threatened” not “abstract” or conjectural”)

Question 20

a causal relationship between the injury and the challenged conduct, by which we mean that the injury fairly can be traced to the challenged action of the defendant, and has not resulted from the independent action of some third party not before the court

Answer 20

Fairly traceable to the defendant’s allegedly illegal conduct; and

Question 21

a likelihood that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision, by which we mean that the prospect of obtaining relief from the injury as a result of a favorable ruling is not too speculative.

Answer 21

Likely to be redressed by the requested relief

Question 22

Policy Justifications for Standing

Answer 22

Promotes separation of powers
Judicial efficiency
Improve judicial decision making by ensuring the parties have proper incentives

Question 23

the class representative must allege an individual, personal injury in order to seek relief on behalf of himself or any other member of the class. 
Each member of the putative class must have standing.

Answer 23

Standing and Class Action Lawsuits

Question 24

Congress has the power to limit the ___________ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Answer 24

appellate

Question 25

The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over _______ _______ regarding issues of federal law

Answer 25

state courts

Question 26

asks whether the court is adjudicating a legal dispute between adverse parties
Was the legal issue brought within the context of a proper case?

Answer 26

The Case or Controversy requirement

Question 27

Congress cannot expand the jurisdiction of the federal courts beyond that provided in Article III, such as the “case or controversy” requirement (Marbury, Muskrat, Lujan)
Congress can limit SCOTUS’s appellate jurisdiction (McCardle)
Congress can limit the jurisdiction of the lower federal courts (see Article III)
It is unclear whether Congress can shield federal issues from review by all federal courts (SCOTUS and lower federal courts)

Answer 27

Congress and Judicial Power