P3 - The Supreme Court Flashcards
what does article III of the US constitution state
that the supreme court has power over ‘all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made..’
when did the power of the judicial review
over national law in Marbury v Madison (1803) and over state law in Fletcher v Peck (1810).
what has the SC been able to do since Marbury v Madison
the Supreme Court has been able to use judicial review to rule on whether state law, federal law or the actions of any branch of government have been unconstitutional.
what does ruling something unconstitutional do
as the constitution is sovereign, by ruling anything unconstitutional, it becomes ‘null and void’, meaning it is no longer enforceable
how does separation of powers ensure judicial independence
the SC has its own power in Article III of the Constitution
how does life tenure ensure justices are independent
justices leave the SC only through death, retirement or impeachment
how does a protected salary ensure independence
the constitution says that justices ‘shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office’. In 2018, this is $255,300
how does the appointment process ensure judicial independence
it ensures that the justices are qualified enough to be on the SC
what is the current composition of the SC
it is 6-3 Conservative swing
who are strict constructionslists
conservative position for a justice to take, being incredibly rigid with their interpretations
who is an example of a strict construtionalist
Clarence Thomas
who is a loose constructionalist
a liberal progressive viewpoint, interpreting the constitution as a living
who are loose constructionalists
RBG, Sonia Sotomayor
what two types of cases does the SC hear
statutory cases from Congress and the states, and constitutional interpretation cases
who is a key example of a surprise swing justice
David Souter, the one who was appointed by Reagan to be very Conservative but changed position, not being very conservative.
when did Sandra Day O’Connor retire
2005
who was Sandra Day O’Connor
a republican appointed swing vote.
what does judicial review give the SC
the power to rule on any law or action of the executive. The Court is only allowed to rule whether these laws are constitutional or unconstitutional.
how many cases does the Supreme Court receive a year?
8,000
how many cases does the SC hear out of the 8000 it receives
between 60 and 100
what has happened to the number of cases heard since chief justice Roberts took office
they have been very low
what is the rule of four
just four of the nine justices have to agree when deciding if they hear cases or not
what is collected for cases
plaintiff, defence and amicus curiae briefs
how long are the plaintiff and defence given to put forward their case
30 minutes
where must their reasoning be drawn from
the constitution
what happened in Obergefell vs Hodges (2015)
this case effectively made same-sex marriage a legal right in every state. This has a reasonable impact as 13 states did not already have such a law. However, its impact should not be overstated as almost 3/4s of states already had this law.
what happened in Texas vs US (2016)
the Supreme Court sided with the state of Texas against President Obama, striking down the constitutionality of his executive orders regarding Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA)
what happened in NFIB v Sebelius (2012)
the Supreme Court upheld ‘Obamacare’, ruling that the provisions mandating that individuals take out healthcare were not prohibited by Constitutional requirements regarding tax
what happened in Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt (2016)
the supreme court struck down the full implementation of a Texas law that may have reduced the number of abortion clinics in the entire state to just seven
what are the three ways in which the Supreme Court can influence policy
- upholding the constitutionality of a case, protects existing policy
- by striking down the constitutionality of a case, it removes existing policy
- occasionally, by doing either of these, it sets entirely new policy for the whole nation
