Chapter Sixteen The Judiciary Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 2 Key Questions and Objectives of Judiciary Chapter 1.Explain

Chapter Sixteen

The Judiciary

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Key Questions and Objectives of Judiciary Chapter

1. Explain what judicial review is and trace its origins.

2. List and comment on the three eras of varying Supreme Court influences on national policy.

3. Explain what is meant by a dual court system and describe its effects on how cases are processed, decided, and appealed.

4. List the various steps that cases go through to reach the Supreme Court and explain the considerations involved at each step.

5. Discuss the dimensions of power exercised today by the Supreme Court and the opposing viewpoints on an activist Supreme Court.




Judicial Review• Judicial review: the right of the federal

courts to rule on the constitutionality of laws and executive actions

• It is the chief judicial weapon in the checks and balances system

THEME A: THE HISTORY OF THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY




U.S. District and Appellate Courts

Administrative Office of the United States Courts (January 1983).




Constitutional Interpretation

• Strict construction: judges are bound by the wording of the Constitution

• Activist: judges should look to the underlying principles of the Constitution

• Today, most strict constructionists tend to be conservative, most activists tend to be liberal

• Activist vs. Strict Constructionists• Issue: Gay Marriage• The Debate in Massachusetts• Seperation of Powers Legislature vs. Governor vs

. Judiciary

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml









Maps of US on each State’s Approach to Gay Marriage




Development of the Federal Courts

• Most Founders probably expected judicial review but did not expect the federal courts to play such a large role in policy-making

• But the federal judiciary evolved toward judicial activism, shaped by political, economic, and ideological forces




National Supremacy

• Marbury v. Madison (1803): The Supreme Court could declare a congressional act unconstitutional

• Marbury vs. Madison excerpt from PBS• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): The power

granted to federal government should be construed broadly, and federal law is supreme over state law

• Student film on McCulloch v. Maryland inspired by Final Fantasy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TVkeRUvX_U






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IBY1Lb0DrM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IBY1Lb0DrM




1865 to 1936

• The Supreme Court was supportive of private property, but could not develop a principle distinguishing between reasonable and unreasonable regulation of business

• The Court interpreted the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments narrowly as applied to blacks—it upheld segregation, excluded blacks from voting in many states

• Court repudiates segregation in Brown v. Board of Education and the Little Rock 9.

• Desegregation riots in South Boston.




1936 to Present

• The Court establishes tradition of deferring to the legislature in economic regulation cases

• The Warren Court provided a liberal protection of rights and liberties against government trespass

• Roe v. Wade 2• Today’s Backlash: Justice Sunday• A middle ground




Selecting Judges

• Party background has a strong effect on judicial behavior

• Appointees for federal courts are reviewed by senators from that state, if the senators are of the president’s party (particularly for U.S. district courts)




Selecting Judges

• Presidents seek judicial appointees who share their political ideologies

• This raises concerns that ideological tests are too dominant, and has caused delays in securing Senate confirmations

• Reagan decides who to appoint to Supreme Court

• President Bush’s nominates Judge Samuel Alito

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyLptCMMd90

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyLptCMMd90




Table 14.2: How Partisanship Affects Judicial Attitudes




Figure 16.1: Female and Minority Judicial Appointments, 1963-2003

Updated from Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2003-2004 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 2003), table 7.5.














Discussion Questions for Theme A

1. What problems did the Court have in trying to limit economic regulation in the era between the Civil War and the New Deal?

2. What was the Roosevelt court-packing plan? What does it suggest about the relationship between the Supreme Court and the other branches of government?

3. How would one distinguish successful from unsuccessful assertions of judicial power? What is it that puts Marbury in one class and Dred Scott in another?




Federal Cases

• Federal question cases: involving the U.S. Constitution, federal law, or treaties

• Diversity cases: involving different states, or citizens of different states

THEME B: THE SUPREME COURT IN ACTION)




Federal Cases

• Some cases that begin in state courts can be appealed to the Supreme Court

• Controversies between two state governments can only be heard by the Supreme Court




Figure 14.2: The Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts




Writs of Certiorari

• Requires agreement of four justices to hear the case

• Involves significant federal or constitutional question

• Involves conflicting decisions by circuit courts

• Involves Constitutional interpretation by one of the highest state courts




Standing to Sue

• There must be a real controversy between adversaries

• Personal harm must be demonstrated• Being a taxpayer does not ordinarily

constitute entitlement to challenge federal government action; this requirement is relaxed when the First Amendment is involved




The Supreme Court in Action

• Most cases arrive through a writ of certiorari• Lawyers then submit briefs that set forth the facts

of the case, summarizes the lower court decision, gives the argument of that side of the case, and discusses other issues

• Oral arguments are given by lawyers after briefs are submitted

• Example: Oral Arguments before Court on Roe v Wade




Kinds of Court Opinions

• Per curiam: brief and unsigned

• Opinion of the court: majority opinion

• Concurring opinion: agrees with the ruling of the majority opinion, but modifies the supportive reasoning

• Dissenting opinion: minority opinion




Discussion Questions for Theme B

1. The Theme Summary describes several of the practices and rituals of the Supreme Court. Based on the Summary, how would you describe the culture of this institution? In what ways are its folkways (and thus its culture) similar to or different from the other branches of the government?

2. In what respects is the Supreme Court a political institution? Think carefully about how you are defining political in answering this question.




3. What are the reasons for a greater number of concurring and dissenting opinions in the Court decisions of recent decades? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such outcomes? How do these opinions affect the relationships among the justices?

4. The role of the clerks of the Court is extremely powerful: clerks are the Court’s “agenda setters” in some important ways: they review all incoming petitions, provide research to the justices, and write drafts of the opinions. Most clerks are fresh out of an exclusive law school, are highly motivated by career, and are very intelligent. They generally share the philosophy of the justice they are clerking for, and they will hold this position for only one year. Is this an appropriate way for the Court to manage its workload? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this system?




Arguments for Judicial Activism

• Courts should correct injustices when other branches or state governments refuse to do so

• Courts are the last resort for those without the power or influence to gain new laws

THEME C: THE POWER OF THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY




Arguments Against Judicial Activism

• Judges lack expertise in designing and managing complex institutions

• Initiatives require balancing policy priorities and allocating public revenues

• Courts are not accountable because judges are not elected




Checks on Judicial Power

• Judges have no enforcement mechanisms• Confirmation and impeachment proceedings• Justice Alito on the Bork confirmation hearing• Changing the number of judges• FDR Court Packing Scheme• Revising legislation• Amending the Constitution• Altering jurisdiction• Restricting remedies




Public Opinion and the Courts

• Defying public opinion frontally may be dangerous to the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, especially elite opinion

• Bush v. Gore and the 2000 Election (Mr. Banno video)

• Opinion in realigning eras may energize court• Public confidence in the Supreme Court since

1966 has varied with popular support for the government generally




Figure 14.3: Patterns of Public Confidence in the Court

• Source: Updated from The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion 1991 (Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1992), 213.




Discussion Questions for Theme C

1.Why do presidents give careful thought to the political views of prospective judicial nominees? Isn’t legal competence more important?

2.What kinds (and how many) resources are required to bring a case to the Supreme Court? Is the judicial system more accessible than the legislative or executive branches?




3.What sorts of legal doctrines or principles will an activist judge favor?

4.Is the judiciary still the “least dangerous” branch?

5.What are the checks on the power of the judiciary? Are they potent and easily invoked, or weak and difficult to invoke? Why haven’t unpopular decisions, such as those on busing and school prayer, been overturned?




Wrap Up

1. 31W

2. Key Ideas from Supplemental Readings

3. The Capitol Steps keep the Supreme Court ALIVE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9HQnbKCs6M



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Chapter Sixteen The Judiciary Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.16 | 2 Key Questions and Objectives of Judiciary Chapter 1.Explain