US Supreme Court And Civil Rights Flashcards
Similarities in the structure of the US and Uk SC (3):
-established in constitution
-president of SC in the Uk and a chief justice in the US
-both can be removed (uk can be removed by the monarch only after parliamentary address)
Differences in the US and uk Sc (4)
-SC isn’t entrenched in the UK (was only made by 2005 conditional reform act) and has only existed for 16 years
-UK has 12 justices and only 5-11 hear each case but in the US there are 9 justices, all of whom hear each case unless recuse (pardon themselves from hearing it as Jackson did for SFFA vs Harvard)
-appointed by the king after nomination by the judicial appointments commission in the Uk but in the Us they are nominated by the president and approved by the senate
-in UK they must retire at 70 if appointed after 1975 or 75 otherwise whereas in US they have life tenure
What is judicial review and when was it established
-the power of the Sc to strike down executive and legislative actions and policies they deem unconstitutional
-established federally by Marbury vs Madison (1803)
-established for state law in Fletcher vs Peck (1810)
How does the Us constitution guarantee judicial independence? (4)
-separation of powers
-appointment process involves the executive and legislative branch meaning justices dont invest loyalty into any one branch
-life tenure
-Congress can’t reduce the pay of incumbent justices so there’s no financial incentive to resign (currently $268,300)
Examples of Clarence Thomas receiving donations
It was revealed in 2023 that:
-Justice Thomas had taken three trips hosted by Harlan Crow (a billionaire Republican donor) and sold a house to Crow
-Thomas has received $4.2mil since 2004 whereas all other justices have a combined donation of $6ook
Examples of Samuel Alito accepting gifts/ donations
It was revealed in 2023 that Alito had taken a luxury ice fishing trip with republican donor Paul Singer
What is the Supreme Court code of ethics
-a formal document written in 2023 which details:
-the 5 main principles of court ethics
-guidelines on financial disclosures
-guidelines on when a judge should recuse themselves from a case
-is upheld by the Sc themselves
Recount the appointment process to the US SC
-a vancany opens up
-the president commissions a search for eligible candidates and announces their final nomination
-the American Bar association (a sectional pressure group) offers a qualification to the candidate; it’s expected that they get “well qualified” status, however Thomas was only “qualified”
-the senate judiciary committee calls the nominee in for questioning and scrutiny, who then vote on the nominee before the senate formally votes to appoint them with a simply majority
Three examples of Supreme Court rejections and why
-Bork; rejected in 1987 because his opinions on issues like abortion, civil rights and watergate made him too politically illegitimate in the eyes of a democratic SJC, who voted against his recommendation before going to the senate
-Miers; rejected in 2005 for lack of qualification as shed never before had a judicial position
-Garland; rejected in 2016 because he was nominated towards the end of Obamas term so the senate refused to hear any appointments until trump was in power
Examples of the SC appointment process being heavily critical
-in 2018, Kavanaughs SJC hearing heavily centred around allegations of assault against him
-Clarence Thomas also had assault allegations against him
Evidence that the SC appointment process has become increasingly politicised
-increased party polarisation when voting to appoint a candidate
E.g. recent candidates have narrowly won majorities, like Brown Jackson with 53-47 and an 11-11 SJC split and Kavanaugh with 50-48 and an 11-10 SJC split.
Compared to old justices like Scalia who was unanimously approved by the senate
What is a loose constructionist justice
A justice who favours a broad interpretation of the language of the constitution
What is a living constitutionalist
A justice who believed that the constitution is an evolutionary document thats meaning changes in light of changing moral, scientific and legal contexts
What is a strict constructionist
A justice who favours a strict/ literal interpretation of the constitution
What is originalism
The idea that the constitution should be understood according to the original intent of the writers of the constitution
What is textualism
A belief that the constitution should be understood by the literal meaning of the words in it
What is judicial activism and some examples of activist courts
-an approach to interpreting the constitution in which justices use their own views and values in order to achieve desired social or political goals and the court overturns other political institutions (striking down laws and the like) or the precedent set by previous courts
-the Warren court (1953-1969) was a liberal activist court which saw civil rights reforms via Brown and the like
-the Roberts Court (2005-now) is a conservative activist court who have overturned many executive and legislative actions and overturned previous liberal rulings like Roe via Dobbs, SFFA
What is judicial restraint and an example of a restrained court
-an approach to interpreting the constitution where is its recognised that (as an unelected body), justices should ignore personal preference and defer to institutions with greater democratic legitimacy
The Rehnquist court (1986-2005) was a judicially restrained court, however their decision to uphold abortion rights in planned parenthood vs Casey (1992) subverted expectation in this way
What is stare decisis
A legal principle of upholding the present of previous courts (a key feature of judicial restraint)
What are civil liberties
The basic rights an freedoms afforded by the constitution. These may be explicitly identified or interpreted by the courts/ legislatures
What are civil rights
Legal provisions that counter inequality and discrimination, typically protected by statues
Where are constitutional protection of rights are articulated
Principally through the bill of rights and the reconstruction amendments (13th which abolished slavery, 14th which gives citizenship to all born or naturalised in US and 15th which gives universal male suffrage)
Furman vs Georgia 1972
SC ruled that capital punishment is unconstitutional as it violates 8th amendment right to be free from “cruel or unusual punishment”
Atkinson vs Virginia 2002
SC ruled that the execution of criminals with metal retardation violates the 8th, leaving states to determine IQ levels (more state power)
Base vs Rees 2008
Sc determines that the lethal injection doesn’t violate the 8th amendment freedom from cruel or unusual punishment
Shelby county vs Holder 2013
Sc ruled that section 4b of the voting rights act was unconstitutional, giving states greater control over electoral laws by ending the requirement of federal approval before changes are made. This paved the way for the implementation of voter ID laws in some states which disproportionately impacted minorities
Allen vs Milligan 2023
Sc ruled (5-4) that states must consider fair representation of race when drawing congressional districts and voting strength of minority blocks cannot be weakened by gerrymandering
SFFA vs Harvard and SFFA vs UNC (2023)
SC ruled (6-2 and 6-3 respectively) that the use of race in college admissions (affirmative action policies) are unconstitutional
Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
SC ruled (9-0) that segregation is schools is unconstitutional
Obergefell vs Hodges 2015
SC ruled that same sex marriage bans were unconstitutional. Effectively legalising gay marriage by court decisions (could be seen as legislating from the bench)
Examples of voter id laws post Shelby and how they impact black Americans
As of 2023, 34 states require ID in order to vote and 8 states have strict photo ID requirements
25% of African Americans dont have photo id
Richardson vs Ramirez 1974 and its implications for African Americans
The Sc case upheld the constitutionality of the disenfranchisement of felon, meaning 6 million people are currently denied the vote
African Americans are incarcerated more than 5 times the rate of whiter Americans
Examples of advancements being made to race rights in the US
-the National Congress of American Indians have produced native vote.org to encourage native people to politically participate
-the NAACPs “power your vote campaign” aiming to increase minority voter registration
Judicial racial representation stats (2):
-only 4 of all 116 ever SC justices have been people of colour (3 of them sitting now)
-in all federal courts, 18% of judges belong to an ethnic minority
Executive racial representation (firsts)
-in 1972 Shirley Jackson became the first black candidate to run for president
-Jesse Jackson was the first black candidate to win a primary in 1984
-Obama was the first black president in 2009
-Harris was the first black vice president (and first female vice!)
What is a majority minority district
An electoral where the majority of the constituents are racial or ethnic minorities
There are currently 26, and 24 of them are democrat
Race considerate policies under Obama
-DACA (2012)- an executive memorandum that implemented the same protections afforded by the failed DREAM act (allowing children of illegal migrants to work and get licenses)
-ACA (2010)-the expansion of Medicaid coverage reduced insurance disparities between whites and non whites (from 10% in 2013 to 6% in 2018)
What is the coattails effect
A term in American politics used to describe the impact an extremely popular or unpopular candidate has on other candidates in the same election
Examples of the coattails effect under Obama
-in the space of his first term, minority representation rose from 82 to 97 people
-in 2023, hakeen jeffries became the first African American congressional leader
-Cory booker sponsored the CROWN act in 2022-a bill making race based hair discrimination unlawful
SFFA vs Harvard and SFFA vs UNC (2023)
SC ruled (6-2 and 6-3 respectively) that affirmative action in university admissions is unconstitutional
Who are the NAACP
(The national association for the advancement of coloured people) a grassroots civil rights interest group seeking to ensure the political and educational equality of minority groups (over 500k members)
What affirmative action policy did Obama implement
He established federal guidance to colleges on how best to consider race when attempting to diversify college campuses
What has trump done to hinder affirmative action
-in his first term , he scrapped 24 of the federal guidance documents set out by Obama
-in his second term, he removed an executive order requiring federal contractors to meet certain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) provisions
Bush vs Gore 2000
SC ruled that Floridian votes in the presidential election should not be recounted as per the condition, effectively automating the outcome and declaring Bush the winner (significant impact on the political landscape)
2010 citizens united vs FEC
SC ruled that it is unconstitutional to but restrictions on campaign funding by corporations significant political implications)
Trump vs US (2024)
SC rules (6-3) that a former Us president has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his constitutional authority and at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all official acts
Evidence suggesting that justices will retire at a politically advantageous time
Stephen Breyer (a Clinton nominee) decided to retire in 2022 when Biden was in office, leading to his replacement by Brown Jackson
Trump vs Hawaii 2018
SC overturns a lower court ban on the Muslim travel ban
Roe vs wade (1973)
SC rule that abortion rights are federally protected
Planned parenthood vs Casey 1992
Sc rule that is it unconstitutional to place “undue burden” on a woman seeking an abortion (upholding roe vs wade despite Rehnquist court being judicially restrained conventionally)
Dobbs vs Jackson (2022)
SC rule (6-3) that federal protection of the right to an abortion is not constitutional, formally overturning Roe vs Wade
