USA Judiciary Branch: Supreme Court Flashcards
Supreme Court
Highest court in the federal judiciary and acts as the final court of appeal.
Supreme Court Structure
Supreme Court
US court of appeals
- 13 circuits, 12 regional and 1 federal
US district courts
- 94 district courts
Judicial review + case
Decide if act/presidential action constitutional
- 1803 Marbury V madison
- Marbury sued Madison for not giving judicial commission
- Sc ruled that 1789 Judiciary act was unconstitutional
Process of selection and appointment of Supreme Court
justices - Presidential selection
Presidents aim to appoint judges with similar views
- Trump promised to choose a judge suggested by Federalist society
- Brett Cavanaugh 2018
Process of selection and appointment of Supreme Court
justices - FBI checks
FBI tries to uncover all the things about the judge
- Anthony Kennedy 10 hours interview
Process of selection and appointment of Supreme Court
justices - Senate confirmation
SJC holds hearings and then votes, only reccomedation to Senate
- Clarence Thomas 1991, 7-7, 52-48
- Ginsburg 1993-2020, unanimos, 96-3
Controversial nominations: Merrick Garland
and Amy Coney Barrett
- Garland appointed by Obama in 2016
- Republican Senate refuzed to hold hearings
- 4yrs later vacancy before election, Coney Barret confirmed, 52-48
Controversial nominations: Clarence
Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh
- Clarence Thomas 1991
Accusation of sexual harassement - Brett Cavanaugh 2018
Accusation of sexual misconduct 50-48 confirmed
Is the selection and appointment process of Supreme Court justices fit for purpose?
Yes
- Detalied scrutiny, all uncovered
- SJC are experts
- Check on president
- Court broad range of judges
- Judges independent once apointed
No
- President choose judge based on views
- Justices selected for their votes
- SJC aggressive
- Less scrutiny if unified government
- Less bipartisan support
Current composition of the Supreme Court and balance
- 6/3 Republicans
- Anthony Kennedy 1998-2018, swing vote, Obergeffel v Hodges 5-4
- John Robers 2005, now seeing as swing vote
Diversity of Supreme Court
- Only 6 women ever sat in SC
- Biden 2022 appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson
Strict/Loose constructionism
Strict
- Constitution should be interpreted strictly according to what it says
- Brett Cavanaugh
Loose
- Constitution should be interpreted loosely and applied to modern context
- Ginsburg
Originalists
Language in Constitution should be interpreted in the way in which the framers intended.
- Clarence Thomas
- Brett Cavanaugh
- Niel Gorsuch
Landmark rulings
Brown v Board of Education (1954) 9-0
- Racial segregation in schools violated 14th amendment
Roe v Wade (1973) 7-2
- Allowed abortion for women
Obergefell v Hodges (2015) 5-4
- Allowed same sex marriage
Dobbs v Jackson WHO (2022) 5-4
- Upheld Missisipi law, + no constitutional right to abortion
Nixon v United states (1974) 8-0
- Nixon no right hold back the tapes
Bush v Al Gore (2000) 5-4
- Recount unconstitutional Bush = president
Citizens United v. FEC (2010) 5-4
- Corporations right to 1st Amendment as individual
Supreme Court as quasi-legislative body
Unelected justices create new rights for Americans.
- Constitution doesn’t mention abortion or same-sex marriage
Judicial Restraint v Activism
Restrain
- SC avoids conflict with President or Congress
- Conservative judges practice restrain
Activism
- Making judgements in order to improve society
Supreme Court and Federalism
Roe v Wade (1973) 7-2
- Allowed abortion in all states
Obergefell v Hodges (2015) 5-4
- Allowd same sex marriage in all states
Dobbs v Jackson WHO (2022) 5-4
- Upheld Missisipi law, + no constitutional right to abortion
Is the Supreme Court too political?
Yes
- Unelected body make important changes
- Appointment politicised
- Most justices make conservative/liberal judgements
- Judicial activist make rulings that not intended by framers
- Court decided presidential elections
No
- For Constitution to remain relevant SC has to rule actively
- Justices independent once appointed
- Decisions made on legal argument
- Some judges not reflect president political stance
- Jstices not consistently vote the same way
- Judicial activism helps to protect citizens
Similarities and differences between the supreme courts in US and UK
Selection and appointment of justices
- US nominated by president, confirmed by the Senate.
- UK by an independent selection commission
Characteristics of justices
- US no requirenemnt Uk 15yrs of experience or 2yrs as senior judge
- Both underrepresented
Tenure of justices
- US unlimited Uk must retire at 70
Bases and extent of powers of SC in US and UK
Bases of powers
- US Article 3 + Marbury v Madison 1803 judicial review
- UK Parliament gave all the power
Extent of powers
- US SC judicial review more significant
- US SC can’t be overruled, UK can be ignored because parliament is soverign.
- US SC can strike down laws UK cant
Relative independence of the US and UK judiciaries
- US and UK SC independent of other branches
- US courts politicised, presidential appointments
Bush V Gore all 5 republicans voted against recount - President no influece once Sc judge appointed
Structural approach: the role of political institutions
- Security of tenure allows justices to make independent judgements.
- Separation of powers = independence
- Parliamentary sovereignty vs constitutional
- Appointment in US political process, UK independently appointed
Rational approach: the role of individuals acting to advance their interests
- Politicisation of Us SC = controversial decisions
- UK judges follow judicial restrain
