The nature and role of the Supreme Court. Flashcards
why is the supreme court independent in nature
founding fathers were influenced by the ideas of Montinesquieu who argued that ‘there is no liberty if the judiciary power be not separated from the legislative and executive’
what set up a system of lower federal courts
the judiciary act of 1789 - there are 13 lower courts of appeals known as circuit and below those are 94 trial courts called district courts
most cases start in district courts, then appealed to circuit courts then sent up to sc - the sc only hears cases which constists of major constitutional significance
the supreme court is the only court to be specifically mentioned in the sc
name the nine supreme court members and the chief justice
chief justice - JOHN ROBERTS - appointed by bush
Thomas - Bush
Alito - bush
sotomayor - obama
kagan - obama
gorsuch - trump
kavanaugh - trump
coney barret - trump
jackson - Biden
what does article 3 section 1 say
judges are appointed by the president and must be confimed by a simple majority in the senate and once appointed and confirmed judges hold office for life -“during good behaviour”
this means that members can only be removed through impeachment ( no one has ever been impeached yet)
is the supreme court independent? yes x 2
consistent structure: despite article 3 giving congress the power to change the composition of the sc, it has remained 9 members since 1869. this consistent structure of the sc has prevented other branches of gov from attempting to pack the court with their allies. the structural rule has greatly enhanced the independence of the sc for 150 years
protection against exec and leg: once they have been confirmed and appointed, article 3 section one says that justicies are guaranteed the role for life and cant be dismissed if congress of the pres disagrees with their decisions. their salary is also protected under article 3 which adds protection from the exec or leg from using that as leverage against the justices. this structrual security allows jusitces the autonomy and independence to make whatever judgements they feel to be correct without fear of being removed by the exec or leg
is the supreme court independent? NO X 2
congress ultimately have power: congress has the power to alter the composition of the sc which could be done for political reasons in order to undermine the independence of the judiciary by increasing the number of judges allied to the gov. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT considered increasing the size of the court to overcome the opposition to his NEW DEAL leg in the 30s but was frustrated because congress didn’t want to do it.
impeachment: can be removed via impeachment. the house must impeach by a single majority and the senate must try the justice. if found guilty by the senate by a 2/3rds majority, then the jusocte is removed. this technically challenges this independence of the court and could be used as a political weapon. however no one has ever been impeached so without impeachment justices leave the court for retirement or death
what is judicial review
the power of the sc to declare acts of congress or actions of the exec unconstitutional
is judicial review mentioned in the constitution?
No, By the power of judicial review they can interpret the meaning of the constitution. This can mean the update the meaning of the words which were written so long ago
eg the first amendement (freedom of speech) can be applied to many cases eg Citizens united v FEC 2010
eg 8th amendment (forbidding cruel and unusual punishement) means something different to what it used to mean
what is the most important case in supreme court history
marbury V madison
1st case to ever establish the principle of judicial review in the United States, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws and statutes that they find to violate the Constitution
originated in early 1801 as part of the political and ideological rivalry between outgoing President John Adams and incoming President Thomas Jefferson.
fletcher v pech 1810
the first time the sc ruled against a state law which extended the power of judicial review to state law as well as federal law
civil rights and civil liberties in the sc
The supreme court is there to protect fundamental American civil rights and civil liberties. This gives the court importance because it applies to many political issues such as abortion (EG ROE V WADE), racial equality (BROWN V BOARD OF EDUCATION), gun control (DC V HELLER) and freedom of speech (EG CITIZENS UNITED V FEC). They have also turned into a quasi-legislative body which means that supreme court decisions almost have the same effect of a law passed by congress eg roe v wade applied to all states. The court has been described as the ‘third legislative body’.
what is ABA
the american Bar association - an interest group made up from professional lawyers rather. when there is a nomination, ABA rates the suitability of the nominee and their understanding of the law and constitution.
+provides a non political quality control mechanism - they give ratings of “well qualified, qualified, or not qualified”
- independence and neutrality can be questioned eg research done in 2015 found that female and minority nominees were more likely to recive lower rating than white males. eg black american justice Thomas was only deemed ‘qualified’ and his treatment could be seen as an example of this bias
whats the difference between marbury v madison and fletcher v peck?
marbury v madison - gave sc its power of judicial review, the sc ‘found’ it
fletcher v peck - the first time the sc deemed a state law unconstitutional
