Judiciary

Question 1

What is the Supreme Court?

Answer 1

The Supreme Court of the USA is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the US.

Question 2

What is the definition of Judicial Activism?

Answer 2

An approach to judicial decision-making that says that a judge should use their position to promote desirable social outcomes.

Question 3

What is the definition of Judicial Restraint?

Answer 3

An approach to judicial decision-making that says that a judge should defer to the other two branches of government, as they are politically accountable to voters and should put great stress on precedents - The justices should defer to the other branches of government, as they are elected and can be held accountable; they tend to rule in line with previous proceedings.

Question 4

What is the definition of Judicial Review?

Answer 4

The power of the courts to decide whether a law or action is legal or illegal. This is the process by which US Supreme Court justices decide whether a law or government action is constitutional.

Question 5

What is the definition of Strict Constructionism?

Answer 5

A justice of the Supreme Court who interprets the Constitution in a strict, literal or conservative matter; they stress the retention of as much power as possible by the governments of individual states.

Question 6

What is the definition of Loose Constructionism?

Answer 6

A justice of the Supreme Court who interprets the Constitution in a loose or liberal fashion; they stress the broad grants of power to the federal government.

Question 7

What are the important cases for the first court (the Warren Court 1954-1969)?

Answer 7

• Brown vs Topeka Board of Education (1954) = This ruled that US state laws that established racial segregation in public schools were unconstitutional (against the constitution).
• Miranda vs Arizona (1966) = This ruled that a person who is arrested is entitled to rights against self-incrimination and to an attorney (under the 5th and 6th amendments of the constitution).

Question 8

What are the important cases for the second court (the Burger Court 1969-1986)?

Answer 8

• Roe vs Wade (1973) = The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution of the US generally protected a woman’s right to have an abortion.
• United States vs Nixon (1974) = The Supreme Court ruled that President Nixon must turn over tape recordings and other materials related to the Watergate scandal to a federal district court. As a result of the case, Nixon resigned.

Question 9

What are the important cases for the third court (the Rehnquist Court 1986-2005)?

Answer 9

• Texas vs Johnson (1989) = The Supreme Court ruled that symbolic speech - no matter how offensive to some - is protected under the 1st Amendment. This led to the overturning of flag desecration laws in 48 states.
• Bush vs Gore (2000) = The Supreme Court stated that a recount for the Florida votes was unconstitutional if the votes were to met the December 12th deadline. This then led to Bush being elected the President.

Question 10

What are the important cases for the fourth court (the Roberts Court 2005-present)?

Answer 10

• District of Columbia vs Heller (2008) = The Supreme Court concluded that the 2nd Amendment includes the right of individuals to bear arms for self-defence.
• Obergefell vs Hodges (2015) = The Supreme Court allowed same-sex couples to get married.
• The overturning of Roe vs Wade 1973 (2022) = The Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, which means that the right to have an abortion is no longer protected as a constitutional right.