P3 - The Supreme Court

Question 1

what does article III of the US constitution state

Answer 1

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..’

Question 2

when did the power of the judicial review

Answer 2

over national law in Marbury v Madison (1803) and over state law in Fletcher v Peck (1810).

Question 3

what has the SC been able to do since Marbury v Madison

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

what does ruling something unconstitutional do

Answer 4

as the constitution is sovereign, by ruling anything unconstitutional, it becomes ‘null and void’, meaning it is no longer enforceable

Question 5

how does separation of powers ensure judicial independence

Answer 5

the SC has its own power in Article III of the Constitution

Question 6

how does life tenure ensure justices are independent

Answer 6

justices leave the SC only through death, retirement or impeachment

Question 7

how does a protected salary ensure independence

Answer 7

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

Question 8

how does the appointment process ensure judicial independence

Answer 8

it ensures that the justices are qualified enough to be on the SC

Question 9

what is the current composition of the SC

Answer 9

it is 6-3 Conservative swing

Question 10

who are strict constructionslists

Answer 10

conservative position for a justice to take, being incredibly rigid with their interpretations

Question 11

who is an example of a strict construtionalist

Answer 11

Clarence Thomas

Question 12

who is a loose constructionalist

Answer 12

a liberal progressive viewpoint, interpreting the constitution as a living

Question 13

who are loose constructionalists

Answer 13

RBG, Sonia Sotomayor

Question 14

what two types of cases does the SC hear

Answer 14

statutory cases from Congress and the states, and constitutional interpretation cases

Question 15

who is a key example of a surprise swing justice

Answer 15

David Souter, the one who was appointed by Reagan to be very Conservative but changed position, not being very conservative.

Question 16

when did Sandra Day O’Connor retire

Answer 16

2005

Question 17

who was Sandra Day O’Connor

Answer 17

a republican appointed swing vote.

Question 18

what does judicial review give the SC

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

how many cases does the Supreme Court receive a year?

Answer 19

8,000

Question 20

how many cases does the SC hear out of the 8000 it receives

Answer 20

between 60 and 100

Question 21

what has happened to the number of cases heard since chief justice Roberts took office

Answer 21

they have been very low

Question 22

what is the rule of four

Answer 22

just four of the nine justices have to agree when deciding if they hear cases or not

Question 23

what is collected for cases

Answer 23

plaintiff, defence and amicus curiae briefs

Question 24

how long are the plaintiff and defence given to put forward their case

Answer 24

30 minutes

Question 25

where must their reasoning be drawn from

Answer 25

the constitution

Question 26

what happened in Obergefell vs Hodges (2015)

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

what happened in Texas vs US (2016)

Answer 27

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)

Question 28

what happened in NFIB v Sebelius (2012)

Answer 28

the Supreme Court upheld ‘Obamacare’, ruling that the provisions mandating that individuals take out healthcare were not prohibited by Constitutional requirements regarding tax

Question 29

what happened in Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt (2016)

Answer 29

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

Question 30

what are the three ways in which the Supreme Court can influence policy

Answer 30

1. upholding the constitutionality of a case, protects existing policy
2. by striking down the constitutionality of a case, it removes existing policy
3. occasionally, by doing either of these, it sets entirely new policy for the whole nation