US Supreme Court and Civil rights

Question 1

What power does the US constitution give the Supreme Court?

Answer 1

• Constitution states the SC will rule on constitutional issues when they happen and are brought to them, but they can’t initiate them.
• Appellate jurisdiction means the SC is the ultimate court of appeal.
• Original jurisdiction means a case can be heard in the SC without being heard first in a lower court, for example in cases where there are disputes between state and federal government.
• Appointment process means judges are nominated by president and ratified by Senate.
• Life tenure.

Question 2

What powers do the Acts of Congress give Congress under the constitution?

Answer 2

Gives congress the power to:
- Establish inferior courts, there are 13 Circuit Courts (appeal courts) below the Supreme Court who are the final court of appeal.
- Determine the number of Supreme Court Justices which has long been set at 9.

Question 3

How is the independent nature of the Supreme Court established?

Answer 3

• Separation of powers as the judicial branch is separate from the Executive and Legislature, meaning no shared membership which minimises the opportunity to work together/apply pressure.
• Appointment process ensures President doesn’t act alone as their nomination must be ratified by the Senate. This safeguards against an inappropriate nomination.
• Life tenure prevents a threat of removal, so they have the freedom to act regardless of the wishes of the president (can be removed if they act illegally with a supermajority in Congress).
• Salaries protected by the Constitution.

Question 4

How many cases does the Supreme Court receive and how many do they actually hear each year?

Answer 4

• Receive around 8000 cases a year but only hear around 100 cases a year.
• Cases have to meet a criteria of legal standing and require the support of 4 justices for the court to hear a case.

Question 5

How does the judicial review process operate?

Answer 5

• Court conducts cases similar to a criminal court; there is a plaintiff and defendant.
• Decisions are taken by a majority wins vote. A written opinion of the majority and minority are published which can set important precedent.
• SC has the power to strike down laws made by the Federal/State Gov if they deem them to be unconstitutional.
• SC can ‘update’ the meaning of the words of the Constitution with its judgements, this has meant the SC has made key decisions on Civil Rights and issues such as free speech online.

Question 6

What is the case of Marbury Vs Madison?

Answer 6

• The SC gave itself the power to overturn the actions of any other institution as being unconstitutional ie: the power of judicial review
• Implied power, declared an Act of Congress unconstitutional

Question 7

Fletcher Vs Peck 1810

Answer 7

• Judicial review was used for the first time here as the SC overturned a state law, ruling it as unconstitutional.

Question 8

Why is judicial review important? (Refer to Miller V Alabama and Obergefell V Hodges)

Answer 8

Because it enables the SC to overrule federal and state laws.
- In Miller V Alabama, the SC ruled the Alabama states life sentence of a juvenile offender as unconstitutional
Because it gives the SC influence over legislation as their judgements can rule certain acts to be legal or illegal.
- 2015 Obergefell V Hodges case ruled in favour of right to same sex-marriage which was previously illegal, this affirmed marriage equality under the Equal Protection Clause.

Question 9

Weaknesses of judicial review?

Answer 9

• SC can’t enforce decisions and must rely on the executive and legislative branches to carry out its rulings.
• Amendments to the constitution can overrule decisions made by the SC.
• SC can only rule on cases they are referred to as opposed to being able to rule on any issues.

Question 10

Conservative V Liberal Justices

Answer 10

• Conservative Justices: Favour authority over civil rights, favour capital punishments and key conservative rights such as right to bear arms and against abortion. Often favour state rights over federal power and have a strict constructionist view of the constitution (taking it literally/as they believed the founding fathers meant it, ie, ORIGINALIST)
• Liberal Justices: Favour civil rights, in relation to race/sexual orientation/women’s choice. Supportive of gun control and oppose capital punishments, support criminal justice reform. Often favour federal over state power and have a loose constructionist view of the constitution (it should adapt to reflect the world we live in and changes in society ie, living constitution)

Question 10

Explain the process of how SC Justices are appointed?

Answer 10

• Vacancy occurs (retirement, death, impeachment)
• Nomination (President with support from White House officials draws up a list which is scrutinised through interviews+full FBI reports, President then decides on nominee)
• Senate approval (Senate Judiciary Committee holds a confirmation hearing and votes to recommend whether candidate should be confirmed by the Senate. American Bar Association gives nominee a professional rating. Full Senate votes, over 50 needed).

Question 11

What are the strengths of the judicial appointment process?

Answer 11

• Independence: separation of powers means once appointed no justice is under any control/obligation too any individual/institution. Unelected means not bound by public opinion.
• Judicial ability: the fact that the President, Senate, and American Bar Association are involved in this process ensures that only qualified and expert justices are appointed.
• Personal suitability: FBI screening and Senate scrutiny should expose historical issues and character flaws.
  EG: Reagan experienced failure with nomination of Douglas Ginsburg who was withdrawn after evidence emerged of previous marijuana use.

Question 12

What are the weaknesses of the judicial appointment process?

Answer 12

• Politicised: Political leanings of the President/Senate have become key as Republicans support Conservative Justices and Democrat Liberal ones.
  EG: Refusal of the Republican Senate to appoint Garland as it was coming near to the end of Obama’s term, contrast their appointment of Coney Barrett even though it was nearing the end of Trump’s term.
• Public nature of the process leads to a ‘media circus’, deepens political divide.
• Politicisation means nominees avoid expressing their views, recent nominees (1987 Bork’s views about abortion meant he didn’t get through due to reactions of Democrats in the Senate).
  EG: Gorsuch refused to be publicly drawn on key issues before appointment, this makes the process ineffective.

Question 12

What factors influence the President’s nomination?
(Judicial Ability)

Answer 12

• Judicial ability meaning they need to be highly experienced and qualified to carry out the most important role in the courts.
  EG: Experience in lower courts such as Chief Justice John Roberts who was a judge on the Court of Appeals before his nomination to the SC.
  EG: Kagan had a strong background in legal academia which could be seen as an alternative route.

Question 13

What factors influence the President’s nomination (demographics) ?

Answer 13

• Bush replaced the courts first black justice, Marshall with its second Clarence Thomas.
• Obama looked to make the court more reflective of America by replacing two white men with two women including the first Hispanic justice.

Question 14

What factors influence the President’s nomination?
(ideology)

Answer 14

Nominee often has similar political outlooks to the President, with Republican presidents nominating Conservative judges and vice versa.
- Nominee can be used to appeal to voting groups
EG: appointment of Sotomayor increased Obama’s share of the Hispanic vote.
EG: Trump used nominations to stir up support from the evangelical right.

Question 15

What is the current composition and ideological balance of the Supreme Court?

Answer 15

• Clarence Thomas (Conservative, Bush appointed).
• Kentanji Brown Jackson (Moderate liberal, Biden appointed)
• Samuel Alito (Conservative, Bush Jnr appointed)
• John Roberts (Mod Conservative, Bush Jnr appointed, Chief Justice)
• Elena Kagan (Liberal, Obama appointed)
• Sonia Sotomayor (Liberal, Obama appointed)
• Neil Gorsuch (Conservative, Trump appointed)
  -Brett Kavanaugh (Conservative, Trump appointed, replaced Kennedy who was a moderate/swing)
• Amy Coney Barrett (Conservative, Trump appointed, replaced Ginsburg who was Liberal)

Question 16

What is the impact of the SC on public policy?

Answer 16

A major impact on a range of US public policy including marriage, abortion, equality, and election campaign spending.

Question 17

DC v Heller (2008)

Answer 17

• 2nd Amendment case, that overturned a Washington D.C ban on handguns in the home and requirement that rifles and shotguns had to be kept unloaded, this was deemed unconstitutional.
• 5-4 judgement was seen as a significant victory for the pro-gun lobby as it set the ‘self defence’ element of the 2nd amendment. This has indeed set a precedent that self defence is a reason people should have guns in the home.
• Those who objected such as Ginsburg argued 2nd amendment only covered raising of militia.

Question 18

Citizens United v FEC (2010)

Answer 18

• SC ruled that the 1st ammendment prohibits the regulation on money spent in elections by declaring acts of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act unconstitutional.
• Stemmed from Citizens United wanting to air an anti-Clinton film advertisement before the 2008 primaries.
• Ruling protects first amendment rights such as freedom of expression but also seems to empower wealthy lobby groups and lead to unrestricted election spending.

Question 19

NFIB v Sebelius (2012)

Answer 19

• SC ruled that it was constitutional for Congress to enact sections of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obama care. This included the requirement for Americans to have health insurance by 2014.
• This fell under the Taxing and Spending clause outlined in the constitution, meaning whilst Congress couldn’t force people to buy health insurance, they had the power to tax those who didn’t have insurance.
• Expansion of medicaid was overturned.
• Issue is major divide between Republicans and Democrats.

Question 20

Shelby County v Holder (2013)

Answer 20

• SC overturned the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (which required states who were engaged in past discrimination to get federal pre-clearance before making changes in electoral practices)
• Thus, this protected States rights to decide election laws, weakening federal power.
• Seen as controversial as it doesn’t protect against racial discrimination in voting, eg, restrictive state voter ID which minorities are less likely to possess can be seen as voter suppression.

Question 21

Riley v California (2014)

Answer 21

• Under 4th amendment this protected people from unwarranted searches of their mobile phones by the police.
• Unanimous judgement
• Illustrates application of constitution to the modern world, living constitution.

Question 22

Obergefell v Hodges (2015)

Answer 22

• Constitutional guarantee of the right to gay marriage under the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment.
• Forced many states to change public policy

Question 23

Whole Women Health v Hellerstedt (2016)

Answer 23

• Overturned Texas state regulations on abortion that led to the closure of most Texan abortion clinics.
• On the basis of the 14th amendment, creates an undue burden for women.
• To restrict/prevent abortion delivery services is unconstitutional.

Question 24

Dobbs v Jackson (2022)

Answer 24

• SC overturned Roe v Wade, ruling there is no constitutional right to abortion.
• Power to regulate abortion is given to individual states.
• 6-3 majority.

Question 25

Bostock v Clayton County (2020)

Answer 25

• SC ruled that the employment protections given in the 1964 Civil Rights Act do extent to gender identity and sexual orientation.
• Majority opinion written by Gorsuch, who was appointed by Trump, unusual for Conservatives and seen as a breakthrough in LGBT rights.
• Those who dissented argued it was a case of ‘legislating from the bench’ Roberts saw it as judicial activism.

Question 26

What is judicial activism?

Answer 26

• It is when Justices use their own views and values in making judgements.
• The Court overturns the actions of other political institutions or the precedent of previous courts.

Question 27

Examples of Judicial Activism

Answer 27

• The Warren Court from 1953-69 fundamentally changed civil rights in the US, rulings such as Brown v Board of Education.
• Roe v Wade
• Roberts Court have been activist, Citizens United v FEC, overruled an act of Congress by enforcing the first amendment. Also activist over LGBT rights, against wishes of Roberts.

Question 28

What is judicial restraint?

Answer 28

• When the justices defer to the executive and legislative elected branches and put great store in the precedents previously set by the Court’s judgement. This is known as ‘stare decisis’, legal principle that judges should look to past precedent and let the decision stand.

Question 29

Examples of judicial restraint

Answer 29

• NFIB v Sebelius as Roberts openly criticised Obamacare but voted in favour of it, justices showed a degree of deference to Congress on this.
• Roberts struck down a Louisiana law that would have limited abortions as it went against a previous precedent set in 2016.
• Snyder v Phelps, hateful speech is protected under the first amendment.
• Hawaii v Trump 2018, SC ruled in the favour of Trump that the President had broad direction to suspend the entry of non-US citizens into the US if they could be detrimental to the interests of the US.

Question 30

Define civil liberties and civil rights.

Answer 30

Civil Liberties: basic rights and freedoms ensured through law such as freedom of speech, movement, assembly, worship etc.
Civil Rights: Guarantees equal social opportunities and equal protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or other characteristics.

‘civil rights is about protecting the civil liberties of people’

Question 31

1st Amendment

Answer 31

Encompasses freedom of speech (Citizens United v FEC)
Encompasses freedom of religion (Engel v Vitale prohibits government written prayers in public schools)

Question 32

2nd Amendment

Answer 32

Right to bear arms
(DC v Heller 2008)

• Further reinforced in McDonald v City of Chicago 2010, state governments were now not able to restrict gun ownership, city-wide ban on handguns was overturned, McDonald wanted to own one for self-defence.

Question 33

4th amendment

Answer 33

• Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, warrant is needed as well as probable cause
  (Extended to mobiles in Riley v California 2014)
• However the 2001 Patriot Act is controversial as it suspends probable cause from some searches.

Question 34

8th amendment

Answer 34

• Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, but it is not clear what is cruel and usual so this is subject to the discretion of the SC.
• Atkins v Virgina banned execution of mentally ill offenders.
• Capital punishment is currently not deemed cruel or unusual, in Glossip v Gross 2015, the court ruled death by lethal injection was not ‘cruel and unusual’.

Question 35

10th amendment

Answer 35

• Any power not explicitly given to federal government falls to state governments, this protects federalism by restricting federal government power…this does conflict with the elastic clause that allows Congress to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper.
• Printz v US 1997 protected states from the requirement to create gun restrictions (under the Federal Brady Act of 1993 which instigated background checks).

Question 36

14th amendment (further amendment that followed civil war)

Answer 36

• Prevents racial discrimination, guarantees citizenship rights.
• Everyone in the USA has equal protection under law.
• Brown v Board of Education 1954 outlawed segregation based on race.
• Roe v Wade 1973, right to abortion is implicit in the right to privacy of matters of marriage and family life under the 14th amendment.

Question 37

15th and 19th amendment

Answer 37

15th- right to vote regardless of race
(Shelby County v Holder can be seen as removing protection of minority rights)
19th- right to vote regardless of gender

Question 38

What amendment ended slavery?

Answer 38

13th

Question 39

Brown vs Board of Education (1954)

Answer 39

Ruled that segregated schools in the states are unconstitutional because they violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. The court found that the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine adopted in Plessy v Ferguson 1896, has no place in the field of public education.

Question 40

Black Lives Matter

Answer 40

• Civil resistance/demonstrations
• Started in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, a neighbourhood watch volunteer, who pursued and then shot the unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
• BLM has led protests against treatment of minority groups by the authorities, for example George Floyd who was pinned down by a police offer.

Question 41

How were black people limited the vote?

Answer 41

Although the 15th amendment gave people the right to vote regardless of race, Southern states continued to prevent racial minority voting by using Jim Crow laws, this meant voting was restricted for the black population so the black vote was heavily suppressed.

Question 42

1965 Voting Rights Act

Answer 42

This Act overturned the Jim Crow laws that inhibited minority voting. The Act prevented any state or local government from creating practices that led to racial discrimination in voting, special provisions targeted Southern States who had a history of suppressing black votes. The Federal Justice Department would have to vet all changes to voting laws to prevent any discriminatory practice.

Question 43

Impact of the Voting Rights Act

Answer 43

Voter turnout among African American voters has increased.
- Election of Obama 2008 shows long-term positive change.
- In 2012 election 62% of black voters turned out compared to 50% in 1980.

Question 44

Failure of equal voting rights

Answer 44

• Shelby County v Holder (2013) case overturned the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which can be seen as removing the protection of minority rights/ aiding racial discrimination in voting
• This has led to a series of laws in Southern states that would have been blocked by the Act (which required federal gov approval)
• EG: Restrictive voter ID required in many Southern states is what a lot of minorities are less likely to possess, this can be seen as voter suppression.
• Laws disenfranchising those with felony convictions disproportionally affects black voters.
• In the 2016 election, 21.6% of African American voters were not able to vote because of previous criminal offences.

Question 45

What were the actions of BLM and NAACP against this voter suppression?

Answer 45

• In 2020, BLM and the NAACP put huge efforts into getting the black and Hispanic votes out, these groups faced obstacles and minority areas were less well in terms of polling stations/access to voting.
• These groups held mass demonstrations/took to social media and accused the Republicans of deliberately trying to suppress minority votes.

Question 45

What is affirmative action?

Answer 45

The aim is to redress the inequalities in society, which mainly relate to race. The programme favours disadvantaged minorities in areas such as employment and higher education. This is done by quotas which give a percentage of places to disadvantaged minority groups.

Question 46

University of California v Bakke (1978)

Answer 46

Ruled that affirmative action/racial quotas were unconstitutional where race was the only factor used.
- Gratz v Bollinger 2003 further clarified the need for an individualised approach.

Question 46

Fisher v University of Texas
(2013 and 2016)

Answer 46

This case revolved around Fisher failing to gain a place at UOT, whilst less well qualified students from ethnic minority backgrounds did. In 2013 it ruled race must be subject to stricter scrutiny incase of possible discrimination
In 2016, the SC ruled that, the use of race as a consideration was suitably used in the ‘pursuit of diversity’. The sc rejected the petitioners argument against the policy.
This deemed affirmative action measures as constitutional.

Question 47

Affirmative Action as of June 2023

Answer 47

• On June 29th 2023 the Supreme Court ruled that race can no longer be used as a factor in university admissions, landmark ruling of 6-3.
• This is because it violates equal protection clause under 14th amendment.
• Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas argued programmes soley based on race are unconstitutional, students must be treated on the basis of their experiences as an individual, not on the basis of race.
• Liberal justices Sotomayor and Jackson dissented.
• Biden disapproved.

Question 48

What are the advantages of affirmative action?

Answer 48

• Rights the previous wrongs of American society
• Increases diversity and multiculturalism in top institutions, Ginsburg wrote about the ‘educational benefits of a diverse student body’.
• Promotes racial tolerance and reduces racist attitudes in the education system.
• Promotes equality of opportunity and outcome, helps the socio-economic status of minorities.
• Sotomayor argues she believes her place in university was down to affirmative action, says she was successful due to this.

Question 49

What are the disadvantages of affirmative action?

Answer 49

• By advantaging certain minority groups, others may be disadvantaged ‘reverse discimination’
• Like the racism it seeks to remove, it makes decisions based on race, promoting prejudice.
• Suggests that minorities need help to succeed, which undermines their achievement, Justice Clarence Thomas find it insulting as it accepts the notion that Black people are inferior.
• Lowers standards and motivations, 2011 report by Education Trust found within 6 years of enrolling for a degree, the graduate rates for white students was 62% while it was only 51% for Hispanics and 40% for African Americans.