Supreme Court Flashcards
What is a strict constructionist
A justice who interprets the constitution in a strict literal or conservative fashion, interprets constitution word for word
What is a loose constructionist
A justice who interprets the constitution in a loose or liberal fashion.
Name all the justices in the US Supreme Court and state whether they are liberal or conservative
Conservative:
- Roberts
- Thomas
- Alito
- Gorsuch
- kavanaugh
Liberal:
- Kagan
- Breyer
- Ginsburg
- sotomayor
Name two Supreme Court justices with sexual assault allegations
Kavanaugh and Thomas
How do Supreme Court justices differ
- different ideologies
- strength in confirmation
Give an example for “strength in confirmation”
- alito 58-42 vote
- Breyer 87-9 vote
Name 3 strength cases
Marburg v madison
McCulloch v Maryland
Gibbons v Ogden
What was Marburg v madison
Established judicial review
What was McCulloch vs Maryland
Established federal power over state power
What did gibbons vs Ogden establish
What is this
Interstate commerce clause
The federal license is more legitimate than the state
Give an example of two limitation cases
Scott vs Stanford
- slaves are property and have no rights
Plessy v Ferguson
- separate is equal
Give an example of two expansive cases
Brown v board
- separate is not equal
Engel v Vitale
- protected children who did not want to pray
How many justices got their law degree from Harvard
4
Who is the most conservative justice
Clarence Thomas
When do vacancies arise
When someone dies or retires
On average how long do justices serve for
25+ years
Why is the Supreme Court often described as an “echo chamber”
President appoints justices > likely to have the same ideology
So even after the presidents term their voices are still heard
Why was Kennedy a controversial SCJ
Give another example of this
He did not act as anticipated- turned out far more liberal than the conservative president who appointed him
Kennedy was appointed by Reagan
1950s- Eisenhower described the appointment of earl warren as chief SCJ as “the biggest damn fool mistake I ever made”
What is vetting
A process where a committee analyses all the court judgements writings and statements that the candidate has ever made, they are also interviewed
This lets the cutter see how liberal or conservative a candidate is
How do pressure groups influence SCJ appointments
Allies and opponents of the president keep dossiers on potential nominees, these reports give the president an insight into levels of support for the candidate
What is the American bar association
Have been consulted about every federal judicial appointment, they are provided to give a rating
Eg Kagan was deemed “well qualified”
Is the Us Supreme Court considered diverse
Most are Anglo- Saxon white men however recently has become more reflective of the countries diversity:
Eg in 2009, Sotomayor elected first Hispanic SCJ
Give an example of where geography has played an important role in determining a SCJ candidate
1932- justice Cardozo was from NY, court already had 2 from NY so one offered to resign to allow Cardozo to be appointed
How does payment of political debts affect nomination process
Sometimes a reason for nomination is for reward for PaST service,
Eg Chief Justice earl warren was promised a position in the court in return for not running against Eisenhower in the 1952 election
How are justices confirmed
Required a vote by majority of the senate
Historically there have not been difficult to acheive
Criticise the confirmation process
Recently come to resemble an election campaign with live tv hearings and millions of dollars are spent on supporting or opposing a candidate
Describe the example of Robert Bork
Faced 12 days of public hearings in which liberals sought to discredit him
Consequently The senate refused to confirm him
Give an example of the narrowest margin in the 20th century
1991 Clarence Thomas
Senate voted 52-48
What is a filibuster
Used by a minority to block a nomination
Eg 2002-2005 George bush’s nominee to lower federal courts were filibustered by the minority Democratic Party in the senate
What are the 9 steps of the nomination process
1) a vacancy is created
2) president aides search for suitable candidates in federal and state courts, exec and academia
3) shortlist is drawn up and candidates are interviewed
4) president announces a nominee at a public gathering at Whitehouse
5) American bar association offer a professional rating to let everyone know how well qualified they are
6) senate judiciary committee questions the nominee and other witnesses at a hearing
7) the senate judiciary vote whether to accept the nominee
8) nominee is debated on the floor of the senate
9) final vote is taken in the senate
Describe the controversy around David Souter
He was appointed by president bush, it emerged that bush had not asked the candidate views on abortion,
Whilst in SC, Souter made no decisions which bush agreed with and turned out to be one of the most consistently liberal member of the court
What was the controversy around Robert Bork
Democrats tried to interfere with his nomination, spent $15 million launching a hate campaign against Bork
Does the US Supreme Court have too much power
Evaluate
✅unelected power
✅make decisions which have significant political implications
✅constitution is vague, the Sc has power to interpret
❌court has no initiation power
❌Congress is able to initiate a constitutional amendment to negate the courts decision
❌only ‘servants’ of the law and its a ‘limited power’
What did the Judiciary Act of 1789
Created a Supreme Court with Six Justices
Also established the lower federal court system
Who was the last SCJ to be impeached
Samuel Chase
What is the certiorari act of 1925
Gives the court the discretion to decide whether or not to review a case
What was the watergate scandal
5 men working for Nixon with bugging equipment broke into the main democratic offices to find election strategy, investigation found Nixon was involved
Forced to resign
How did Nixon v US case control the president
President trees power is not absolute cannot withhold evidence to a court case,
Nixon ultimately had to resign
How did Clinton v Paula Corbin control the president
Paula Corbin filed a complaint containing 4 counts against Clinton alleging he made unwanted sexual advances towards her
President not granted presidential immunity
Shows they are not above the law and he has to keep his personal life in check and I’d not immune from civil cases
How did bush v Rasul limit presidential power
Bush wanted to keep some foreign nationals Guantanamo bay, denied their rights to Habeus corpus Against their will
Court ruled that hundreds of foreign nationals held a legal right to challenge their imprisonment
How does congress check SC
The senate confirms all Supreme Court appointments
Impeachment
Congress can alter number of justices
How does president Check SC
Nominated justices
Throw political weight behind decisions (Eisenhower backed brown v board)
Power of pardon
How is Supreme Court limited
No enforcement powers
(Brown v board)
No initiation power
Constitution is strict in parts
Define judicial review
The ability of the court to declare a legislature or executive act in violation of the constitution
What is judicial restraint
When making a decision a judge should put great stress in the precedent established in previous court cases
What established judicial review
Marbury v Madison
What is judicial activism
A judge should use their position promote desirable social ends
(Loose constructionist favourite this)
Name the case that declared the constitution above the state sovereign immunity
Chisholm v Georgia
What 4 things can the court review
Congressional laws
State actions
Federal bureaucratic agencies
Presidential actions
3 ways the Supreme Court has protected civil rights
1) District of Columbia v heller
- court ruled that the amendment does confer an individual rights to bear arms (handguns)
2) rulings of what ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ means
- roper v Simmons - protects u/18s from death penalty
3) freedom of speech
- political donations are seen as an expression of free speech and have been protected by the court
Define due process
Fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially a citizens entitlement to notice a charge before a hearing
Define rule of four
Where a petition for certiorari will be granted and the case in question reviewed if 4/9 decide
Define Amicus Curiae Briefs
A persuasive legal document filed by a person or entity in a case, usually while the case is on appeal, the person has interest in the outcome
Describe Roe vs Wade
Decriminalised abortion nationally in 1973
Name a case which:
Strengthened
Weakened
Abortion laws
✅Planned parenthood v Casey
-minor’s must have parental consent
✅ Roe vs Wade
❌ Georgia abortion law
-prohibits abortion when a heart beat can be detected
Columbia vs Heller
Supreme Court struck down provisions of firearm control regulations act of 1975- deemed unconstitutional
Miranda vs Arizona
Despite being very guilty,
-at the time of his arrest he was not told of his rights i.e. to remain silent and not to self incriminate
Led to “Miranda right”
Riley v California
Warranties search and seizure of digital contents of a cell phone during an arrest is unconstitutional - violates the fourth amendment
Tinker v Des Moines
Ruled students do not shed their constitutional rights
Gregg cases
Court confirms capital punishment was legal in the US under limited circumstances
What is the American civil liberties union stance on capital punishment
It violates the constitution under cruel and unusual punishment
Atkins v Virginia
Person with mental retardation cannot be executed
Cherokee vs Georgia
Ruled forcing Cherokee people off their land and declared they had no legal rights to the land
Brown vs board of education Topeka
Separate is unequal
Goes against Plessy vs Ferguson which established Jim Crow laws
What are some similarities and differences in the extent of powers in the SC
Similarities:
- both are final courts of appeal
- both use judicial review
- both have power to interpret meaning of constitution and Make judgements accordingly
Differences:
- parliament is sovereign, UK cannot strike down acts of parliament, US Is able to strike down an act of Congress
- parliament can ignore UK SC ruling and pass new legislation to override it, US SC ruling can only be overruled by a constitutional amendment
Evaluate the statement: US SC I’d better at holding the government to account than the UK SC
Yes:
- judicial review in USA is more significant whereas UK ruling is ultra vires
- SC has power over president: Clinton vs Corbin
No:
- uk politically independent- so can vote neutrally on political issues, us political appointment
- structurally independent, free to make judgement without fear of being removed, last person to be impeached was Samuel chase 1804
