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Supreme Court Flashcards

1
Q

Which article and section of the Constitution?

A

Article III, section 1

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2
Q

Who created the court system?

A

Framers left it to Congress

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3
Q

Which act created the Supreme Court?

A

Federal Judiciary Act 1789
- one chief justice
- 5 associate justices
- created courts below the SC
⤷ district courts - at least one per state (around 94 total)
⤷ circuit courts - 13, collection of courts judges transfer around, each has a court of appeals (reviews cases and do not retry cases or hear witnesses)

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4
Q

What is a district court?

A
  • Hears trials and hearings
  • Jurisdiction on almost all federal and civil cases
    ⤷ criminal - violated law
    ⤷ civil - disputes
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5
Q

What is a Court of Appeals?

A
  • Reviews cases
  • Do not retry cases or hear witnesses
  • Handles over 50,000 cases per year
  • Less than 10% go to SC
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6
Q

How did Carter impact the courts?

A
  • No SC appointments
  • Appointed 260 judges to federal district courts and courts of appeals
    ⤷ Selected women and minorities
    ⤷ 2 went on to be SCJs - Ginsberg (1993) and Breyer (1994)
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7
Q

Features of the SC

A
  • Appellate court
    ⤷ hears appeals to rulings from circuit courts
  • Original jurisdiction
    ⤷ right for a case to be heard in its first instance
    ⤷ e.g. United States v Shipp 1906 - Af-Am convicted of rape but filed a writ of habeas corpus + case accepted by SC, only criminal case ever taken by SC
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8
Q

How many cases does the SC take?

A

2012 - 8,806 sent, 76 argued
2016 - 7,334 sent, 68 argued
2023 - 62 cases heard
2025 - 65 heard
usually around 1% of cases heard

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9
Q

What act changed the number of justices?

A

Judiciary Act 1869
- 9 justices

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10
Q

Why is the salary of the justices important?

A
  • Prevents bribes/ exploitation
  • 2024 salary
    ⤷ chief - $298,500
    ⤷ associate - $285,400
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11
Q

What are the powers of the SC?

A

Judicial review
- legislation
- presidential acts

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12
Q

When/how was judicial review introduced?

A

Marbury v Madison 1803
- Established precedents for constitutional law and the modern judiciary
⤷ federal laws that conflict the Constitution are invalid
⤷ judges determine whether federal laws are unconstitutional
⤷ duty of judiciary to say what is law w/o opinion
- Gave power to strike down congressional legislation

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13
Q

Which case set the precedent of overpowering states?

A

Fletcher v Peck 1810
- Ruled against state law
- Set precedent of sanctity of legal contracts
- Hinted that Native Americans did not hold complete title to their land
⤷ later confirmed by Johnson v Macintosh

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14
Q

Which case set the 5th Amendment?

A

Miranda v Arizona 1966
- Miranda warnings required before police interrogation

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15
Q

Which case ruled against quotas in college admissions?

A

Regents of the University of California v Bakke 1978
- Supported race as a factor in admissions process
- Just prevented fixed quotas
- Helped uphold later cases
⤷ Fisher v University of Texas 2016 - 4-3 support of having race as a factor in its admissions process
⤷ Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard 2023 - race-based affirmative action is unconstitutional (14th am)

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16
Q

Which cases involved gay rights?

A

United States v Windsor 2013
- ruled section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional, meaning govt can’t discriminate against married gay couples for federal benefits and protections
Obergefell v Hodges 2015
- gay marriage legal across all states

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17
Q

Which case set the precedent of their power to review criminal courts?

A

Cohens v Virginia 1821

18
Q

Which case set the precedent that they could rule any branch of govt unconstitutional?

A

Cooper v Aaron 1958
- denied Arkansas School Board the right to delay desegregation
- used the Supremacy Clause to support that the schools must respect the rights of black students as given by the Constitution

19
Q

How is the SC conservative?

A
  • History of blocking civil rights progress
    ⤷ Shelby County v Holder 2013 - gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, leading to race-based gerrymandering
    ⤷ Fisher v University of Texas 2016
  • Power of police
    ⤷ Maryland v King 2013 - 5-4 that DNA swabs as part of arrest does not violate the 4th Am as it shouldn’t require a warrant due to probable cause
  • Supportive of gun rights
    ⤷ District of Columbia v Heller 2008 - Columbia’s ban on handguns and requirement of shotguns + rifles to be unloaded and disassembled violated 2nd Am
  • Supportive of limited govt/ less federalism
    ⤷ Dobbs v Jackson WHO 2022
  • Free speech activism
    ⤷ Snyder v Phelps 2011 - right of protests at funerals
20
Q

How is the SC liberal?

A
  • Progressive on social issues
    ⤷ United States v Windsor 2013
    ⤷ Obergefell v Hodges 2015
    ⤷ Roe v Wade 1973
  • Denied Trump’s request to delay his trial until after inauguration
21
Q

What are the 5 stages of the appointment process?

A
  • Vacancy arises
  • Presidential nomination
  • ABA rating
  • Senate Judiciary Committee hearings
    Senate floor vote
22
Q

What factors are their in the nomination?

A
  • Experience
    ⤷ e.g. Harriet Miers 2005 - withdrew as no experience as a judge or in constitutinal law (just a lawyer) + no record on abortion (repubs)
    ⤷ ABA ratings
    ⤷ Elena Kagan only one not to have worked for the Circuit Courts, but was Solicitor General to Obama (represents the whole federal government)
  • Demographics
    ⤷ attempts to diversify the court
    ⤷ e.g. Carter
    ⤷ e.g. Biden - Kentaji Jackson Brown
    ⤷ e.g. Reagan - first woman (Sandra Day O’Connor)
    ⤷ e.g. Obama - 2 woman and first hispanic (Sotomayor)
  • Ideology
    ⤷ usually aligned with president
    ⤷ quite known due to their career history
    ⤷ e.g. Kavanaugh - right wing think tank The Heritage Foundation (aim to build cons social policies)
    ⤷ e.g. Barrett - called the right to abortion ____
23
Q

Is the appointment process more political?

A

Bush - nominated Miers as she would be “a good conservative judge” and was one of Bush’s closest friends

24
Q

Is the appointment process more judicial?

25
What are the 4 debates of the ideology justices could have?
Conservative v Liberal Loose v Strict constructionist Judicial Restraint v Activism Evolutionist v Originalist
26
What is a loose/strict constructionist?
Loose - willing to interpret more broadly - open to federal powers Strict - stick to the written text - more protective to state rights
27
What is judicial restraint/activism?
Restraint - limited role of court - try support existing rulings and defer to more accountable/elected branches Activism - uses their position to achieve social change - overturn past rulings/legislation
28
What are examples of judicial activism?
Liberal - Roe v Wade 1973 - Obergefell v Hodges 2015 ⤷ ignored the 13 states which ruled gay marriage illegal - United States v Windsor 2013 ⤷ gay relationships recognised by state Conservative - Citizens United v FEC 2010 ⤷ overturned McCain-Feingold reforms (prohibited unregulated contributions) ⤷ allowed money to be free speech - Shelby v Holder 2013 ⤷ struck down formula in Voting Rights Act 1965 ⤷ same day Texas enacted voter ID laws plans (later ruled racially discriminatory)
29
What are examples of judicial restraint?
Liberal - Whole Women's Health v Hellerstedt 2016 ⤷ defended Roe v Wade 1973 - Bostock v Clayton 2020 ⤷ firing an employee for being gay/trans violates the Civil Rights Act 1964 Conservative - Gonzales v Carhart 2007 ⤷ upheld the Partial-birth Abortion Ban Act - Glossip v Gross 2015 ⤷ allowed lethal injection as it is not deemed cruel and unusual (8th) - District of Columbia v Heller 2008 ⤷ ruled in respect to 8th am
30
What are the cons of judicial activism?
- Too much leeway makes them 'politicians in robes' - Assumes powers they do not have - 'Improvements' to the Const are subject to their personal beliefs - Touches on areas not discussed by FFs ⤷ e.g. LGBTQ, abortion - Ignores the importance of prior decisions
31
What are the cons of judicial restraint?
- Prevents social change - Doesn't fulfil their purpose as justices - Narrow focus on the og text means misinterpretation - Original meaning unknown ⤷ e.g. right to bear arms - just military? - Often pick and choose which elements to ignore and which ones they can use
32
What is evolutionism/ originalism?
Living Constitution - Constitution can be changed and should evolve over time Originalism - should interpret the Constitution in reference to the thinking of the Founding Fathers - ignore modern changes/advances
33
What are the pros of originalism?
- Can prevent tyrannical majority from overstepping - Keeps society united through set precedents - Larger changes can be made by elected officials
34
What are the pros of evolutionism?
- Allows for an adapting society - Stops out of date beliefs being continued - Ensures minority rights - Founding Fathers could not conceptualise today's society
35
What is a swing justice? (example)
A justice who often defies their ideology ⤷ e.g. Kennedy and Roberts
36
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the appointment process?
- Length of the process - Senate involvement - The media - President's role
37
What are the pros and cons of the length of the process?
Pros - can take 2-3 months ⤷ means appointments are well vetted ⤷ e.g. Harriet Miers withdrew to lack of experience Cons - after a death of a judge, there are only 8 judges ⤷ can lead to a tie ⤷ e.g. Obama's Exec. Order (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - DAPA) was challenged and was tied after Scalia's death in 2016, leading to it being struck down
38
What are the pros/cons of the Senate's involvement?
Pros - helps present the views of the Justices - Cons - Senate approval rarely defers from the majority party ⤷ e.g. Obama - couldn't pass Garland 2016 ⤷ e.g. Trump - Gorsuch - 0 rep defers, 3 dem 2017 ⤷ e.g. Trump - Kavanaugh - 0 rep defers, 1 dem 2018 ⤷ e.g. Trump - Barrett - 0 defers from either side 2020 - Senate Judiciary Committee often talks at nominees ⤷ e.g. Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan and Gorsuch spoke for 33% on avg over 4 days ⤷ suggests they don't want to actually interview the nominees
39
What are the pros/cons of the involvement of the media and pressure groups?
Pros - brings attention to politics - helps show important characteristics of candidates ⤷ Barrett nomination - ABA considered key to nominations Cons - media causes more politicisation ⤷ Barrett - media traction over her pro-life beliefs - allows for funding of candidates ⤷ Judicial Crisis Network given $10m of donations to oppose Garland and oppose Gorsuch
40
Is the SC and imperial judiciary?
41
How has the SC supported Trump?
42
How was the SC limited Trump?
- Rejection of trump's administration to keep $billions of Congress approved foreign aid frozen

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