US Supreme Court And Civil Rights Flashcards
(50 cards)
Similarities in the structure of the US and Uk SC (3):
-established in constitution
-president of SC in the Uk (Baron Reed) and a chief justice in the US (Robert’s)
-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)
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)
Shows SC impact on individual rights
Base vs Rees 2008
Sc determines that the lethal injection doesn’t violate the 8th amendment freedom from cruel or unusual punishment
