SCOTUS - is it an imperial judiciary? Flashcards
define interpretive amendment
done via the power of judicial review which allows SCOTUS to amend the constitution without any formal change.
these can create new political, constitutional powers, roles, and limits political institutions.
meanings of the constitution changes because of stare decisis - they aren’t formal amendments but they change the way we look at the constitution.
define imperial judiciary
theory that suggests the judiciary dominates US politics and that it essentially controls the political climate rather than checks the other branches effectively.
IT IS IMPERIAL
1a unelected nature
the court is unelected which means that they can make decisions with large impact on US government and citizens and yet it is entirely unaccountable
IT IS NOT IMPERIAL
1b no enforceability
the court has no way to enforce its own rulings and is entirely dependent on other branches of federal govt
IT IS IMPERIAL
2a judicial review
the court’s judicial review power often always amounts to the final say on any given issue as it is so difficult to overturn a decision – use of constitutional amendments to this has only occurred once in 1913.
IT IS NOT IMPERIAL
2b court’s rulings can be overturned
the court’s rulings can easily be overturned.
IT IS IMPERIAL
3a selection/choice
8000 cases are brought to SCOTUS each year, and they hear less than 1% of them – this selection and choice enables SCOTUS to have large amounts of power.
IT IS NOT IMPERIAL
3b constitution
constitution provides the single largest limit on SCOTUS. Regardless of justice’s personal convictions on things, cases and decisions must be rooted in the Constitution – even with the power to interpret, they must and can only interpret what is there.
