Supreme Court Flashcards
(94 cards)
1
Q
What is the central role of the supreme court?
A
to uphold the constitution - acts as a constitutional court rather than a criminal one, it determines the acceptability of actions within the rules of the constitution
2
Q
What is the structure of the federal judiciary?
A
SC sits at the top. Below are the US Courts of Appeal and US District Courts.
3
Q
What powers are given to the SC by the constitution?
A
- establishes SC
- extent of judicial power
- life tenure for judges
- original jurisdiction
- appellate jurisdiction
- appointment process
4
Q
What powers are implied by the constitution to the SC?
A
power of judicial review
5
Q
What powers are established by acts of congress under constitutional authority to the SC?
A
Congress has the power to:
- establish inferior courts
- determine number of justices on the court
6
Q
How does the US Constitution establish an independent SC?
A
- separation of powers
- appointment process
- life tenure
- salary
7
Q
How does separation of powers ensure independence of SC?
A
- no one in the executive or legislature works closely with judges
- there is little chance of close connections or pressure
8
Q
How does the appointment process ensure independence of SC?
A
- president cannot determine appointment of justices alone
- senate must accept or reject presidents nominees
- a president is therefore prevented from appointing someone who will not act independently because they have close connections to the president
9
Q
How does a life tenure ensure independence of SC?
A
- justices are appointed for life
- prevents the threat of removal
- president or congress cannot remove a justice
- justices have the freedom to act regardless of the wishes of the president of the day
10
Q
How can a justice be removed?
A
supermajority by Congress
11
Q
How does the salary ensure independence of SC?
A
- judicial compensation clause of article III protects pay of judges
- establishes that their pay “shall not be diminished during their continuance in office”
12
Q
What is judicial review?
A
the power of the SC to declare acts of Congress, acts of executive, acts/actions of state governments unconstitutional
13
Q
How was the power of judicial review established?
A
- not stated in constitution
- ‘found’ by the Court in Marbury v Madison
14
Q
Name the case that gave the SC the power of judicial review
A
Marbury v Madison 1803 - when it first overturned an Act of Congress
15
Q
What case further defined the power of judicial review after Marbury v Madison?
A
Fletcher v Peck 1810 - the court overturned state law for the first time
16
Q
What does the power of judicial review guarantee?
A
fundamental civil rights and liberties
17
Q
What is the SC’s political importance?
A
it rules on key political issues such as the rights of racial minorities, capital punishment, gun control and freedom of speech
18
Q
What does it mean that the SC is a “quasi-legislative body”?
A
- the effects of its decisions have almost the effect of a law having been passed by Congress
- it turns the court into a “third house of the legislative” / a “political” institution
19
Q
Give an example of where the SC has been turned into a “quasi-legislative body”
A
original Roe v Wade - had the effect comparable to an abortion rights law having been passed by Congress
20
Q
What are the three stages of the SC appointment process?
A
- vacancy occurs
- president nominates a new justice
- senate decides
21
Q
How might a vacancy occur for a new justice?
A
death, resignation or impeachment of justice
22
Q
What do presidents look for when appointing a new SC justice?
A
- shares a similar judicial philosophy to himself
- young so they stay in the Court for longer
- acceptable to a majority of the Senate (particularly important if president’s party is the minority)
- does not have a controversial background
- has relevant experience
23
Q
How has the confirmation process changed over recent years?
A
- nominees used to be approved mostly by overwhelming, bipartisan votes
- now, confirmation votes are more likely to be along party lines (senators from the president’s party saying ‘yes’ and those from the other party voting ‘no’)
24
Q
Give an example of when the confirmation process was along party lines
A
Neil Gorsuch in 2017 - 51 Republicans voting ‘yes’ / 45 Democrats voting ‘no’
25
Which Senate Committee helps to confirm appointments? What do they do?
Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings, including an interview with the nominee and makes a recommendation to the full chamber
26
How does the Senate decide to approve or reject an appointment?
full Senate vote held
over 50% required for the nominee to be appointed
27
How is the nomination process politicised?
- president's own policy preferences infect the court
- they attempt to choose justices who share their political views and judicial philosophy
28
Give examples of Presidents who appointed nominees based on sharing their own political views/judicial philosophy
Obama with Kagan
Trump with Gorsuch
29
How does the nature of justices threaten the neutrality of the court and its rulings?
they are even described as 'liberal' / 'conservative'
30
How is the ratification process politicised?
justices are now frequently confirmed on party line votes e.g. Gorsuch
31
What are appointments more focused on?
ideology than judicial stability - a president will seek to influence the ideological makeup of the SC by nominating a justice aligned with their 'liberal' / 'conservative' belief
32
What does the finely balanced liberal and conservative judges of the SC lead to?
swing justices who may have a disproportionate influence over key issues
33
Who are swing justices?
the pivotal justice in an otherwise evenly balanced court
the one who will often be in a position of casting the deciding vote
34
Give an example of a swing justice
Anthony Kennedy
35
Who's nomination marked a turning point and what was significant about it?
- nomination of Bork in 1987 - he was rejected by D's in particular who tried to prevent a strong conservative influencing the outcome of court decisions
- since then, hearings have become more politically charged
36
What limits the political effect of presidential appointments?
- separation of powers - justices are independent of the executive and legislative branches
- once in office, SC justices are independent of presidential/congressional influence therefore maintaining their judicial role
- few checks on the power of SC - justices can make decisions as they see fit rather than as their appointees wish
37
Give an example of a justice who did not follow the ideology expected of them by the president appointing them
Warren was more liberal than expected
38
Why was the nominee Harriet Mies not successful in 2005?
- she was attacked by Republicans for not being sufficiently conservative
- she was attacked by Democrats for a lack of experience
39
How can we argue that appointments to the SC is the most important nomination a president makes?
- they occur infrequently
- they are for life
- just one new appointee to a nine member body can significantly change its philosophical balance
40
How is the appointment of Merrick Garland in 2016 significant?
- nominated by Obama
- Senate blocked any nomination by refusing to hold a vote
- extreme partisanship: senate did not fulfil its constitutional duty to advice and consent
- allowed Trump to fill the vacancy instead (Gorsuch)
41
How is the Senate Judiciary Committee ineffective?
- members from the president's party tend to ask soft questions to the nominee
- members from the opposition party attempt to attack/embarrass the nominee rather than to elicit relevant information
42
How does ideology impact presidents choice of nominee?
- choose nominees who share their political views and judicial philosophy
- highly unlikely to nominate someone of an opposing political view
e.g. Republican president is likely to choose a conservative justice
43
Give an example of how geographical background impacts presidents choice of nominee
Washington carefully awarding his six court appointments to different states
44
How did Obama increase the diversity of the SC?
- replaced two white males with two females
- appointed Court's first hispanic justice
45
If a president faces a hostile senate how might this affect their choice of nominee?
he might make a nomination that the knows will be acceptable to the senate or somebody that will gain him votes within key groups
46
What is significant of Obama's appointment of Sotomayer ?
able to use this to increase his support among Hispanic voters between 2008 and 2012
47
Describe the composition and ideological balance of The Warren Court 1953-1969
- described as activist
- focused on a series of civil rights cases delivering liberal opinions
48
Give an example of The Warren Court delivering liberal opinions on a civil rights case
Brown v Board of Education 1954
49
Describe the composition and ideological balance of The Rehnquist Court 1986-2005
- more restrained
- dealt with fewer than 100 cases per year
- reduced its political impact
50
What issue was The Rehnquist Court 1986-2005 associated with?
states rights agenda - several rulings that protected the power of the states, halting decades of expansion of federal power
51
Describe the composition and ideological balance of the The Roberts Court (since 2005)
- more conservative
- series of conservative rulings undermining campaign finance regulations
52
Give an example of The Roberts Court delivering conservative opinions on campaign finance regulations
Citizens United v FEC 2010
53
Give an example of when the Roberts Court disappointed conservatives
NFIB v Sebelius which upheld Obama's Affordable Care Act
54
What are the two judicial philosophies?
1. strict constructionists
2. loose constructionists
55
What does strict constructionist mean?
- interpret constitution in a strict, literal fashion
- favour state government over federal government power
- tend to lead to an outcome that is often seen as 'conservative'
- essentially 'Republican'
56
Which courts are strict constructionist?
The Rehinquist and Roberts Court
57
What does loose constructionist mean?
- interpret the constitution in a loose fashion
- favour federal power over state power
- see the constitution as a living, dynamic entity (to take into account views of contemporary society so can be adapted)
- often seen as 'liberal'
- essentially 'Democratic'
58
Which court is loose constructionist?
The Warren Court
59
Give examples of justices that are strict constructionist
John Roberts - Bush
Samuel Alito - Bush
Neil Gorsuch - Trump
60
Give examples of justices that are loose constructionist
Stephen Breyer - Clinton
Sonia Sotomayor - Obama
Elena Kagan - Obama
61
How has the SC had a major impact on public policy?
through its use of judicial review
by giving rulings in areas such as health, education, environment it can impact public policy by removing it or upholding it
62
Give the ways in which the SC impacts public policy
- removes existing policy
- upholds existing policy
- establishes new policy
63
Give an example of the SC removing existing policy
Shelby County v Holder 2013
64
Shelby County v Holder 2013
- overturned long standing public policy of Voting Rights Act 1965
- protected states rights to decide election laws
65
Give an example of the SC upholding existing policy
NFIB v Sebelius 2012
66
NFIB v Sebelius 2012
- states rights/interstate commerce clause, right of federal government to impose income tax
- upheld major piece of public policy in the Affordable Care Act
67
Give an example of the SC establishing new policy
Obergefell v Hodges 2015
68
Obergefell v Hodges 2015
- created a new constitutional guarantee to the right to gay marriage
- forcing many states to change their public policy
69
How has SC impacted public policy on abortion?
overturning of Roe v Wade - originally Roe v Wade guaranteed a woman's right to choose an abortion as a constitutionally protected right, this is no longer the case and is reserved to states
70
How does the SC's influence over public policy make it a political body?
it makes decisions on policies that are fought over in election campaigns e.g. abortion and gay rights
71
What is judicial activism?
an approach to decision making whereby judges should use their position to promote desirable social ends - even if that means overturning the decisions of elected officials
72
What is judicial restraint?
an approach to decision making whereby judges should not seek to 'legislate' from the bench, this should be left to the legislature and executive
73
Describe an activist court
- one that sees itself as leading the way in the reform of American society
- sees itself as an equal partner to the legislative and executive branches
- often uses its power of judicial review to strike down acts or actions of elected officials
74
Give examples of courts acting as 'activist'
- Roe v Wade - guaranteed a woman's right to choose an abortion
- Obergefell v Hodges - guaranteed rights to same sex marriage
these cases show the SC as clearly taking the lead in shaping American society in terms of its rights and liberties
75
Describe a restrained court
- more inclined to accept the actions and decisions of elected officials
- sees Congress and President as shapers of American society rather than itself
76
What does the term 'stare decisis' mean?
a legal principle that judges should look to past precedents as a guide wherever possible
a form of deference
77
Which court is star decisis more likely to be used in?
a restrained court
78
What is a judicially active court more likely to have a major impact on?
public policy
79
What is the reasoning behind judicial restraint?
SC as an unelected body should defer to the institutions with greater legitimacy
80
What does a restrictive judiciary limit the SC's impact on?
public policy
81
How has judicial activism been criticised?
- gives justices excessive power over elected politicians
- suggests a political agenda in which courts abuse their power
- uses vagueness of the constitution to reach their own personal goals
82
How is judicial restraint more effective?
more suited to a democratic society as it restricts the likelihood of unelected justices denying a majority view as expressed by elected politicians at either national or state level
83
What allows the SC to have the final say on the issue of rights?
- entrenched nature of constitution
- power of judicial review
- high priority given to enumerated rights in Bill of Rights
84
How has the SC upheld the first amendment (freedom of religion)?
Town of Greece v Galloway - the Court allowed legislative bodies such as town councils to begin their meeting with prayer
85
What is the significance of Town of Greece v Galloway?
strengthened individual rights to practise their religion in public - even in state constituted and state funded bodies
86
How has the SC upheld the second amendment (gun control)?
District of Columbia v Heller 2008 - guaranteed individual gun ownership rights
87
What is the significance of McDonald v City of Chicago?
- extended rights announced in Heller to state and local governments
- never before had the courts ruled this interpretations of the 2nd amendment
88
How has the SC upheld the 8th amendment (free from cruel and unusual punishment)?
Roper v Simmons - declared it unconstitutional to sentence anyone to death for a crime they committeed when under 18
89
What is the significance of Glossip v Gross?
- declared that the lethal injection did not infringe the 8th amendment's ban on 'cruel punishments'
- the court was clearly seen as telling us what 18th century words mean in 21st century America
90
What three perspectives can the effectiveness of the SC in protecting rights be viewed from?
1. power
2. will
3. ideology
91
How powerful is the SC in protecting civil rights?
the court is in an extremely powerful position as a result of the entrenched constitution and its power of judicial review
92
How much willingness does the SC have to protect civil rights?
- the vagueness of the constitution gives a huge amount of personal control to justices
- justices often interpret the constitution in a manner that may not promote liberties apparent in the constitution
93
What ruling can be seen as a failure for the SC to protect racial minority rights?
Shelby v Holder 2010
94
How does ideological perspective impact the SC's protection of rights?
words can be interpreted from the 18th century constitution to modern day e.g. "cruel and unusual" phrase
