Supreme court

Question 1

How many judges are on the court?

Answer 1

9 judges - odd number to prevent a tie

Question 2

Who nominates judges to the Supreme Court?

Answer 2

the president

Question 3

Who confirms appointments to the Supreme Court?

Answer 3

A simple majority in the senate

Question 4

How long are justices appointed for?

Answer 4

Justices are appointed for life

Question 5

How do Justices usually leave service?

Answer 5

By voluntary resignation
Death
Impeached

Question 6

What is the role of the Supreme Court?

Answer 6

To interpret and uphold the constitution

Question 7

Where are the powers of the Supreme Court laid out?

Answer 7

In article III of the constitution

Question 8

What is the role of the chief justice?

Answer 8

The presiding member of the Supreme Court but holds no additional voting power over the other 8 members of the court

the current chief justice is John Roberts

Question 9

What is original jurisdiction?

Answer 9

The right of the Supreme Court to be the first court to hear a case in certain circumstance rather than a case needing to be appealed

Question 10

How many cases does the Supreme Court receive per year?

Answer 10

7000 - 8000 cases per year

Question 11

How man cases does the Supreme Court hear each year?

Answer 11

Around 1% of cases each year - the court can decide which cases it hears

Question 12

How does the constitution ensure the Supreme Court remains independent?

Answer 12

The constitution prevents the salary of justices being lowered during their time in office meaning they don’t have to be concerned over repercussions from the president or congress for voting against them

Question 13

What did Truman say regarding SC nominees?

Answer 13

‘whenever you put a man on the SC he ceases to be your friend’ - referring to two of his appointees voting against him

Question 14

How does the Justices being appointed for life ensure their independence?

Answer 14

Justices are appointed for life meaning the president or congress can’t remove them for making decisions they don’t agree with - especially significant due to complaints made by president’s displeased with the voting habits of their nominees

Question 15

How does the separation of powers in the US ensure the Justices independence?

Answer 15

Separation of powers grants the court it’s own power e.g. judicial review allows the SC to check the power of the president and congress

Question 16

Give an example of judicial review

Answer 16

Boumediene v Bush 2008 - the SC ruled against both congress and the president by ruling the military commissions act unconstitutional - allowing detainees held at Guantanamo bay to challenge their detention in US courts - willingness to rule on controversial issues

Trump v Vance (2020) declared Trump’s claim of immunity from local law enforcement

Question 17

Why is it important that the SC remains independent?

Answer 17

It is crucial to their operation and to ensuring the power of government can be limited

Question 18

What is judicial review?

Answer 18

The power of the SC to judge actions of the presidential branch or acts/actions of congress against the constitution - the SC can declare these acts unconstitutional

Question 19

What are the 2 cases that set judicial review as a precedent?

Answer 19

Marbury v Madison (1803)
Fletcher v Peck (1810)

Question 20

What is the only way to overturn a SC decision?

Answer 20

To change the constitution itself - which has only occurred once - the farmers’ loan & trust co was later nullified by the 16th amendment

Question 21

What are the five stages of the appointment process for the SC?

Answer 21

• Vacancy arises
• Presidential nomination
• ABA rating
• Senate judiciary committee hearings
• Senate floor vote

Question 22

Explain and give examples for the ‘vacancy arises’ stage of the SC appointment process

Answer 22

• A vacancy can only arise through death, retirement or impeachment of a current SC justice e.g. Justice Scalia died in 2016 and was replaced by Garusch - Justice Kennedy announced his retirement in 2018 and was replaced by Kavanaugh

Question 23

Expand on ‘presidential nomination’ stage of the SC appointment process

Answer 23

• The president can choose whoever he likes to fill a vacancy - expected however they have judicial experience and can pass the senate vote

Question 24

Expand and give examples for the ‘ABA rating’ stage of the appointment process

Answer 24

Not a constitutional requirement but the ABA offers a rating of ‘unqualified’, ‘qualified’ or ‘well qualified’ for judicial nominees

all but one of the current justices hold a ‘well qualified’ rating e.g. Justice Thomas was deemed to be ‘qualified’ which made it difficult for him to be confirmed by the senate

Question 25

Expand and give examples for the 'senate judiciary committee hearing' stage of the appointment process

Answer 25

Not a constitutional requirement - holds hearing in which they can question the nominee - at the end of the hearing the committee holds a vote - serves as a recommendation to inform the senate vote e.g. Robert Bork was rejected by the committee 9-5 and subsequently faced defeat in the full senate vote

Question 26

Expand and give examples for the 'senate floor vote' stage of the appointment process

Answer 26

Following the recommendatory vote from the SJC the whole senate must vote to confirm an appointment e.g. following the 2017 reforms this vote can no longer be filibustered and requires just a simple majority e.g. Robert Bork rejected in 1987 by a 42-58 vote

Question 27

What was controversial about the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh?

Answer 27

He replaced Kennedy who was known as the swing justice yet by comparison Kavanaugh would be one of the most conservative judges on the court & so the resulting court would have a more conservative outlook During the appointment process Kavanaugh was facing sexual assault allegations & interest groups such as pro choice NARAL lobbied against Kavanaugh

Question 28

What factors would the president consider when nominating a justice?

Answer 28

Judicial experience The outgoing justice The demographics of the SC The ideology of the nominees

Question 29

Why would a president consider a nominees judicial experience?

Answer 29

The nominee is expected to be experienced as judge and be qualified in law - one of the key reasons Harriet Miers' nomination was criticised in 2005 (no judicial experience)

Question 30

Why would a president consider the position of the outgoing justice when nominating their replacement?

Answer 30

Often the president may be expected to replace the nominee on a 'like for like' basis to maintain the balance of the court - less likely to face extreme opposition in the senate

Question 31

Why would the president consider the demographics of the Supreme Court when nominating a justice?

Answer 31

A president may wish to widen the representative nature of the SC through appointments e.g. Obama appointed two women and the first ever Hispanic justice

Question 32

Why would the president consider the ideology of the nominee when nominating a justice?

Answer 32

The president typically considers their nominees ideologies and their compatibility with their own as this can influence desired outcomes for future rulings e.g. Trump nominated judges who were likely to be conservative in their rulings - Barrett & Kavanaugh

Question 33

How can a president ascertain a nominees ideological stance?

Answer 33

- previous rulings if they were a judge - membership to a think tank e.g. Kavanaugh appeared on a list of the right wing think tank 'the heritage foundation' prior to Trump's nomination

Question 34

What is a swing justice?

Answer 34

A justice who sits in the ideological middle of the 9 justices on the US Supreme Court to prevent ideological bias

Question 35

Give an example of a prolific swing justice

Answer 35

Kennedy = important swing justice - often referred to as the 'Kennedy court' when the court is traditionally named after the Chief Justice

Question 36

What are the characteristics of a conservative judge?

Answer 36

A justice who is more likely to try & achieve rulings which produce a more limited federal government - uphold conservative ideals e.g. pro gun & anti abortion

Question 37

What judicial philosophy's are conservative judges likely to abide by?

Answer 37

Strict constructionist Original constitution

Question 38

What are the characteristics of a liberal judge?

Answer 38

A justice who is more likely to achieve rulings which produce greater equality for all even if it means a larger federal government - uphold liberal ideas e.g. LGBT rights

Question 39

What judicial philosophy's are liberal judges likely to abide by?

Answer 39

loose constructionist living constitution

Question 40

How would a loose constructionist interpret the constitution?

Answer 40

A justice who is more willing to interpret the wording of the constitution broadly - might include offering the fed govt more power

Question 41

How would a strict constructionist interpret the constitution?

Answer 41

A justice who will stick to the wording of the constitution as the text is written without interpretation

Question 42

What is judicial restraint?

Answer 42

A justice who believes in the SC having a limited role - ruling only for the people in front of them in a case and deferring to the elected & therefore accountable branches where possible

Question 43

What is judicial activism?

Answer 43

A justice who is likely to use their position on the court to achieve rulings that give desirable social ends as far as their ideology is concerned

Question 44

What is a living constitution?

Answer 44

The theory that the constitution is a living, evolutionary and organic document that can be changed through reinterpretation over time

Question 45

What is a original constitution?

Answer 45

A belief that the meaning and interpretation of the US constitution is set by the original principles of the document - it shouldn't be subject to broad interpretation

Question 46

What evidence is there that despite ideological divisions the current SC isn't divided?

Answer 46

only around 20% of cases are decided with a 5-4 vote and the most common decision issued by the court is 9-0 suggesting there are factors other than personal interpretation and ideology that influence a judge's decision

Question 47

What are some benefits of the appointment process for justices on the SC?

Answer 47

The process from nomination to ratification takes between 2-3 months - candidates can be vetted and their suitability tested in terms of their judicial experience e.g. Harriet Miers nominated by Bush (2005) was rejected due to no judicial experience the ABA further vets suitability to rule on SC cases through offering a rating of qualification - not a constitutionally reinforced decision but valued by the senate e.g. Justice Thomas was only deemed to be 'qualified' which made it difficult for him to receive senate confirmation

Question 48

What are some drawbacks of the appointment process for justices on the SC?

Answer 48

- Length of the process: a vacancy arising leaves an imbalanced court that can affect policy decisions e.g. Obama's struggle to appoint a new justice after a justice's death led to him not being able to pass DAPA as his court was split 4-4 and so the policy denied - due to not having a swing justice that could have potentially passed the pact - Mandate of the SC - the SC is an unelected branch and perhaps arguably diminishes democracy as they are the highest court of appeal - Politicisation of the process: senate increasingly voting along party lines for nominees affects SC's neutrality & as the political balance of the court is affected e.g. Kavanaugh's appointment was approved by the senate 50-48 with just one democrat voting for him and the rest all republican

Question 49

What is public policy?

Answer 49

Policy and law created by the branches of government that have an effect on the US population

Question 50

Give an example of a SC ruling on a case which led to the creation of new policy

Answer 50

Citizens united v FEC (2010) - created a new policy allowing for the development of Super PAC's which could raise unlimited amounts for campaigning by ruling that some provisions of BICRA violate the first amendment McCutcheon v FEC (2014) - the ruling lifted the 'aggregate cap' which limited the total amount an individual could spend in an election - SC ruled that caps on spending violates the first amendment

Question 51

Give an example of a SC ruling that upheld existing policy?

Answer 51

NFIB v Sebelius (2011) - the ruling upheld Obamacare allowing it to continue, the decision only narrowly passed with the four liberal justices joined by the Chief Justice

Question 52

Name a significant SC ruling related to the first amendment

Answer 52

Synder v Phelps 2011 - decided free speech in public even if considered offensive or causing emotional distress is not limited

Question 53

Name a significant SC ruling related to the 2nd amendment

Answer 53

Chicago v McDonald (2010) - gun control - the right to bear arms for self defence is also applicable to states as well as federal govt law

Question 54

Name a significant SC case ruling related to the 4th amendment

Answer 54

Carpenter v US (2018) - to acquire cell phone location data amounts to a 4th amendment search and therefore requires a warrant

Question 55

Name a significant SC case ruling related to the 5th amendment

Answer 55

Berghuis v Thompkins (2010) - the ruling stated that staying silent during interrogation was not the same as invoking the 5th amendment right to silence

Question 56

Name a significant SC case ruling related to the 8th amendment

Answer 56

Glossip v Gross (2015) - the SC ruled that lethal injection using midazolamm doesn't violate the 8th amendment

Question 57

Name a SC case ruling related to the 14th amendment

Answer 57

Obergefell v Hodges (2015) - the right to marry is guaranteed to same sex couples

Question 58

Give evidence that the SC is a political institution

Answer 58

- members are appointed by a politician (the president) - appointments are confirmed by politicians (the senate) - it makes decisions on issues that feature in elections e.g. abortion, gun control etc - some have described the court as 'a third house of legislature' i.e. rulings can lead to the creation of policy

Question 59

Give evidence that the SC isn't a political institution

Answer 59

- it's members are judges not politicians and it operates on the principles of judicial neutrality & independence - the court is independent - not subject to political pressure as they don't involve themselves in party politics - members make decisions based on legal and constitutional arguments not personal political ideology

Question 60

What are the checks of congress on the SC?

Answer 60

- the senate has the power to confirm or reject appointments - congress fixes the numerical size of the court - congress can imitate constitutional amendments that would have the effect of overturning the court's decision

Question 61

What are the checks of the president on the SC?

Answer 61

- the president has the power to nominate justices - the president can throw their political weight behind a courts decision thereby enhancing or decreasing their legitimacy

Question 62

Give evidence that the SC has too much power

Answer 62

- the court gave itself the power of judicial review and is a powerful check on both the congress and the president - it has increasingly declared acts of congress unconstitutional - it is an unelected body - it is a largely unaccountable body

Question 63

Give evidence that the SC doesn't have too much power?

Answer 63

- congress and the president can perform checks and balances on the SC e.g. the senate confirms or rejects appointments - it has no initiative power it must wait for cases to come before it - it is dependent upon the rule of law and other branches of government to enforce it's decisions - public opinion is a restraining force on the court's power - it is checked by the constitution and can check itself e.g. the decisions in Ramos v Louisiana (2020) overturned the court's decision in Apodaca v Oregon (1972)