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US Politics Summer Exam > Supreme Court > Flashcards

Supreme Court Flashcards

1
Q

Ruling restricting gun control and what type of ruling it was

A
  • D.C v Heller - 2008
  • 5 v 4 in favour of Heller (conservative)
  • NOT A STATE LAW (D.C NOT A STATE)
  • Established an individual right to bear arms
  • Therefore federal Activist case.
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2
Q

Name a campaign finance case and what type of ruling it was

A
  • Citizens United v FEC - 5v4 in favour of citizens (conservative)
  • money = speech - set major precedent (federal activism).
  • Overturned Mconnel v FEC 2003 which stated campiagn donations were not free speech.
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3
Q

Case on healthcare 2012 and what type of ruling was it

A
  • NFIB v Sebelius
  • 5v4 in favour of Sebelius (Liberal) which upheld Obamacare/ACA (federal restraint)
  • Justice Roberts voted in favour of ACA for a different reason to the other 4, he did it because he viewed the individual mandate as a tax and that is congress’ role.
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4
Q

Case on same sex marriage 2013 - what did it overturn and what type of ruling was it

A

US v Windsor - said the definition of spouse as member of opposite gender in Defence of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. (Federal Activism)

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5
Q

Voting rights case 2013 - what it overturned + what type

A
  • Shelby County v Holder
  • overturned the need for certain states to have pre-clearance.
  • Overturned in 5v4 ruling as racism data was over 40 years old and put an impermissible burden on some states. (federal activism)
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6
Q

Case on same sex marriage 2015 - what type?

A
  • Obergefell v Hodges -
  • enforced the right for same sex marriage in all 50 states. (State activism) as its all 50 states.
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7
Q

Case on racism and segregation 1954 + what did it overturn?

A
  • Brown v Board of Education
  • struck down state law and stated segregation in public schools violated the equal protection clause.
  • Overturned Plessy v Fergerson
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8
Q

Case on Flag Desecration 1989

A
  • Texas v Johnson - invalidated punishments for flag desecration that was enforce in 48/50 states.
    • US v Eichman saying flag desecration was freedom of speech.
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9
Q

Case on abortion 1973 and what case was used

A
  • Roe v wade
  • Struck down state laws that deemed abortion illegal.
  • Griswold v Connecticut (1965) right to privacy.
  • Since Roe v Wade states have have added impractical requirements to make abortions harder to receive.
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10
Q

Case that granted Judicial review over federal law in 1803 and state law in 1810.

A
  • Marbury v Maddison
  • stuck down Judiciary Act 1789 and by striking down an act of congress they then set a precedent for striking down acts of congress.
  • Also it was 1810 Fletcher v Peck for state law.
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11
Q

Case regarding Trump’s travel ban 2018

A
  • Trump v Hawaii
  • deemed it constitutional only after he made a series of amendments to it.
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12
Q

Case related to commerce clause and weed 2005

A
  • Gonzalez v Raich
  • ruled that Congress may criminalise the production and use of homegrown cannabis even if state law allows its use for medicinal purposes with power of commerce clause.
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13
Q

Case regarding Affirmative action in university 2016

A
  • Fisher v University of texas -
  • ruled that after strict scrutiny Texas’ application review was constitutional.
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14
Q

Gorshuch Replaced who and when?

A

Scalia + 2017

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15
Q

Alito replaced who and when?

A

O’Connor + 2006

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16
Q

Roberts replaced who and when?

A

Rehnquist + 2005

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17
Q

Kavanaugh Replaced who and when?

A

Kennedy + 2018

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18
Q

ABA rating

A
  • in the appointments process the American bar association give them a qualification rating.
  • Clarence Thomas was the only one to receive just a ‘qualified’ rating.
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19
Q

Case that stuck down one of Obama’s immigration policies.

A
  • Texas v US (2016)
  • Struck down DAPA.
  • It was a split ruling so the lower courts decision was upheld.
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20
Q

Case that struck down Texas abortion laws

A
  • Whole Woman’s health v Hellerstedt 2015.
  • Struck down Texas laws that forced an undue burden on women by reducing the amount of abortion clinics to 7 in the state.
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21
Q

Judicial Activism

A
  • Using their position to overturn outdated precedents and aiming to achieve what they believe to be the best for society. (overturn more)
  • or overturning actions of the elected branches
22
Q

Judicial Restraint

A

Believing a ruling should have limited impact and they are in no way there for their political opinion. (don’t overturn much)

23
Q

Living Constitution + Loose constructionist

A

Constitution is an evolving document that must be understood in the current context and therefore applied rightly in the current context.

24
Q

Originalism + Strict constructionist

A

Believes that rulings should be based off the words and at a stretch the intent of the constitution and it should not change massively based on circumstances.

25
Q

Controversial case that upheld freedom of speech even if it causes emotional distress 2011

A
  • Synder v Phelps 2011.
  • Sided with the Westboro Baptist church.
  • Supreme court said that even in the case of severe emotional distress, freedom of speech still held.
26
Q

Chicago v Mcdonald

A

2010 - affirmed the right to guns.

27
Q

one of the cases that ruled on Guantanamo bay

A

Hamdan v Rumsfeld 2006 - ruled that some parts of it were unconstitutional.

28
Q

The SC appointment process

A
  • Vacancy occurs: They are appointed for life so one must either die, retire or be impeached.
  • Presidential nomination
  • ABA rating
  • Senate Judiciary Committee
  • Full Senate vote.
29
Q

Strengths of the Appointment process

A
  • Ensures independence
  • Ensures individuals are qualified
  • Role of elected branches gives some accountability
30
Q

Weaknesses of the Appointment process

A
  • Politicised by the President
  • Politicised by the Senate
  • Role of the Media, which can hinder the chances of a nominee through their coverage of them
31
Q

When was the last resignation, Death and potential impeachment of a justice

A
  • Resignation - Anthony Kennedy 2018
  • Last Death - Ruth Bader Ginsburg 2020
  • No impeachments but only one justice has had proceedings brought against them - Samuel Chase 1805
32
Q

Senate Judiciary Committee for Sotomayor and Thomas

A
  • Sotomayer - spoke for just 34% of her committee hearing
  • Thomas - received a split vote of 7-7 for his approval.
33
Q

Arguments in favour of the SC being Judicial (Non political) (6)

A
  • Justices can only rule that something is constitutional/unconstitutional
  • The Supreme court cant enforce its rulings
  • SC has no initial power
  • Justices are appointed based on experience
  • Constitution garuntees independence through life tenure and protected salaries.
  • Stare decisis - previous decision stands
34
Q

Arguments in favour of the SC being political (5)

A
  • Usually ruling on law or action of an elected branch.
  • Justices can be divided into liberal & conservative
  • Impact of cases extends beyond that specific case detail they ruled on.
  • They are approved and chosen by political branches.
  • Political figures all try and influence the courts with amicus briefs
35
Q

Arguments for the Supreme court being an “imperial judiciary” (5)

A
  • Judicial review allows the court to overrule the elected branches
  • Judicial review is almost impossible to overturn, only occuring once via constitutional amendment.
  • Justices are appointed for life and difficult to remove
  • Judicial activism
  • The SC choooses cases to decide that will have the biggest public impact.
36
Q

Arguments against the SC being an “Imperial Judiciary” (6)

A
  • They have no enforcement power
  • They can only rule on the constitution and nothing more.
  • they can only hear about 80 cases a year
  • it has been reluctant to rule on some particularly controverisal issues.
  • It is subject to checks and balances
  • many cases are not landmark and have no real public effect.
37
Q

Case that involved healthcare and abortion

A
  • Burwell v Hobby Lobby 2014
  • allows employers to opt out of providing contraception in healthcare coverage on the grounds of Religion
38
Q

Interesting Detail about the decision in US v Texas 2016

A
  • Scalia had just recently died(Feb 2016) and had not been replaced.
  • therefore this case was decided with 8 justices and therefore was a 4-4 split
  • The court is least effective when working with 8 justices as it can have ties.
  • Neil Gorsuch was appointed a whole year after Scalia’s death because the Senate refused to hear Merrick Garland’s appointment.
39
Q

Democrat’s failed SC nominee

A
  • Merrick Garland was nominated by Obama in March 2016 after Scalia’s death in Feb
  • He was a reasonably moderate candidate as Obama wanted bipartisan support.
  • McConnel refused to hear his nomination as it was too close to the election (a year)
  • He wanted the next president to appoint (trump) and also republicans care a lot more about the SC so they are more likely to vote knowing there is an empty seat.
  • Meant the SC was 8 people for a year, ineffective
40
Q

Republican 2020 succsessful nominee

A
  • Amy Coney Barrett replaced RBG
  • Very conservative on womens issues etc.
  • Appointed in October 2020, 1 month before the election where Trump lost
  • Highlight contrast between this and Garland’s appointment.
41
Q

Example of Good Congressional oversight in nomination process

A
  • Harriet Myers was Bush’ nomination and it became very clear that she was unqualified and not fit for the SC job.
  • The senate blocked her nomination with bipartisan support.
42
Q

Textualism

A
  • Plain objective reading of the text
  • Current meaning of the words today
  • Does not care about consequences or impact of ruling
43
Q

Original Meaning and example of justice

A
  • Not just what the words mean but the founding fathers intent at the time.
  • Scalia
  • Used a dictionary from the founding father’s time to define the words.
44
Q

Judicial Precedent (constitutional interpretation)

A
  • using previous rulings set by the SC to decide other cases.
  • Justices are more restrained when overturning trulings that have lots of different cases resting on that ruling.
45
Q

Pragmatism

A

Considering future implications on society and making logical decision based on constitution

46
Q

Case on EAs

A

Reid v Covert 1957

  • Affirmed that EAs cannot contradict federal law
47
Q

Case on DACA being rescinded

A

Regents of the University of California vs Department of Homeland Security 2020

  • Stated that the attempt to rescind DACA was “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
  • Therefore unconstitutional
48
Q

Case on Watergate scandal

A

US v Nixon 1974

Deemed that Nixon couldnt use exec privilege in the watergate scandal

49
Q

Case regarding the Political question doctrine

A
  • Baker v Carr 1962
  • Defined what is judiciable
  • Redistricting is
  • Other “political stuff” like foreign policy is not
50
Q

Case where court said partisan gerrymandering was non judiciable

A
  • Rucho v Common Clause 2019
  • “Partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts,” John Roberts
  • Contradicts Baker v Carr
51
Q

Recent Case regarding LGBTQ Rights

A
  • Bostock v Clayton County 2020 – Bostock fired once his employers found out he was gay
  • He argued that he was fired for his sex which is a protected characteristic in the Civil Rights Act (which sexual orientation is not.)
  • He said he was fired for being a man who liked men whereas if he was a woman who liked men then it wouldn’t be an issue.
  • Neil Gorsuch and Roberts sided with the liberals in this case.
  • This is a modern, loose constructionist reading of the Civil Rights Act which protected civil rights.
    *
52
Q

Distinction between Individual and Civil Rights

A
  • Civil - For them to be protected, the government needs to actively legislate or rule protecting them. Eg Voting Rights, race, sex etc
  • Individual - for them to be protected the government needs to restrain from ruling on them; Eg gun rights, free speech, religion

US Politics Summer Exam (6 decks)

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