United States Supreme Court Justices

John G. Roberts Jr.

John G. Roberts Jr, Chief Justice

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was nominated as Chief Justice by President George W. Bush and has been actively serving since 2005

Chief Justice Roberts’ self proclaimed jurisprudence is one of “modesty and humility” but throughout his stint as Chief Justice it has been seen by the public as a jurisprudence that reflects “doctrinaire conservative” with values reflecting the “contemporary Republican Party” according to the New Yorker

John G. Roberts (Cont.)

According to the New Yorker, from 2005 to 2009, in every major case he has heard he has sided with “the prosecution over the defendant, the state over the condemned, the executive branch over the legislative, and the corporate defendant over the individual plaintiff”

This does a lot to the balance of Constitutionalism especially with the power balance between the Executive and Legislative Branches

John G. Roberts (Cont.)

Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder (2009) This case was critical to the future of the Voting

Rights Act of 1965 regarding a bill added to the Act in 2006 requiring certain jurisdictions to obtain approval to change any electoral rules

During the arguments Chief Justice Roberts aggressively questioned the Deputy Solicitor General, clearly showing bias and opinion on the case

In the end the decision was that this new section was unconstitutional shifting power away from the legislative Branch influenced by Chief Justice Roberts

John G. Roberts (Cont.)

Ricci v. DeStefano(2009) This case was important in the

development of modern day race relations being that it was a reverse discrimination case

In the argument phase Chief Justice Roberts again aggressively questioned the man defending the actions of the city showing bias and ultimately leading to a decision in favor of firefighter Frank Ricci

Antonin Scalia

Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice

Justice Antonin Scalia was nominated as an Associate Judge by President Reagan and he took his seat in 1986

Justice Scalia has been called “the justice from the tea party” and often refers to and stays loyal to constitutional law

Antonin Scalia (Cont.)

Morrison v. Olson (1988) The Ethics of Government Act of 1978 created

a special court and gave the Attorney General the power to appoint an “independent counsel” with the responsibility of investigating and possibly prosecuting government officials in violation of federal criminal law

Justice Scalia’s opinion that the power given to a branch of government in the Constitution should be honored helped to decide that this Act was Constitutional and his argument and dissent showed Justice Scalia as an advocate for Constitutionalism in the Supreme Court

Anthony M. Kennedy

Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice

Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy was nominated as an Associate Justice by President Reagan and he took his seat in 1988

Justice Kennedy is a conservative but has commonly played the role of the swing vote, siding sometimes with the more conservative Justices and sometimes with the more liberal Justices

Anthony M. Kennedy (Cont.) Boumediene v. Bush (2008)

In this case the court questioned whether or not that Military Commission Act of 2006, eliminating federal courts’ jurisdiction over habeas corpus cases, was unconstitutional and if a 2002 Guantanamo Bay detainment was a violation of The Writ of Habeas Corpus

In a 5 to 4 decision this law was considered unconstitutional and the detainment was determined a violation of The Writ of Habeas Corpus. Justice Kennedy was again a swing vote and he also wrote the majority opinion proving again his major influence in the Supreme Court

Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas was nominated by President George Bush and took his seat in the Supreme Court in 1991

Justice Clarence Thomas is often question in terms of his effectiveness and morals because of his 5 years of silence during oral arguments, an integral part of Supreme Court Hearings but Justice Thomas does also show strong conservative tendencies

Clarence Thomas (Cont.)

NASA v. Nelson (2011) This is a Supreme Court Cases that is seemingly

unrelated to Constitutionalism, but what happened during what happened during the decision and the public concern is what relates to Constitutionalism

This is a case that did not require the court to settle a constitutional issue but Justice Thomas, along with Justice Scalia, insisted on resolving a constitutional issue. This is an attempt by Justice Thomas to gain more power in the Judicial Branch which is what concerns the public

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was nominated as an Associate Justice in the Supreme Court by President Clinton and took her seat in 1993

Justice Ginsburg has for the most been a quiet member of the Supreme Court both in opinion and during arguments but in 2007 when Justice O’Connor left and shifted the court to the right when she became or more outspoken member of The Court

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Cont.)

A controversy within the court is whether or not foreign law can or should be cited in constitutional law cases but Justice Ginsburg approves of this tactic and often uses it oppose to her more conservative colleagues

Justice Ginsburg has taken a strong stance on many “gender discrimination” cases as well as introducing the term “gender discrimination” as a synonym for “sex discrimination”

Stephen G. Breyer

Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice

Justice Breyer was nominated as an Associate Justice by President Clinton and took his seat in the Supreme Court in 1994

Justice Breyer has been known to take a strong stance on right to bear arms

Stephen G. Breyer (Cont.) District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

This is a case that questioned whether a District of Columbia law banning the possession of handguns was a violation of the Second Amendment

In this case and previous cases questioning the interpretation of the Second Amendment, Justice Breyer has stuck to James Madison’s thoughts and writings and sided with the majority in deciding that The Second Amendment did protect the individual right to possess a firearm and this law was a violation of the Second Amendment

Samuel Anthony Alito Jr.

Samuel Anthony Alito Jr, Associate Justice

Justice Alito was nominated as an Associated Justice by President George W. Bush and took his seat in the Supreme Court in 2006

Justice Alito has tended to vote with his more conservative Colleagues in his 4 years of service

Samuel Anthony Alito (Cont.) Hamdan V. Rumsfeld (2006)

This case questioned if the Geneva Convention could be enforced through a habeas corpus petition and if Congress or the President hat the power to try a criminal for war crimes

Justice Alito voted with the conservatives in the majority deciding that neither Congress or the President had this authority in the Constitution, therefore, standard war procedures must be followed and that the Geneva Convention can be enforced in Supreme Court shifting the balance of power to the Supreme Court as a regulating force

Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice

Justice Sotomayor was nominated by President Obama and she took her seat on the Supreme Court in 2009

Justice Sotomayor is a liberal and has been called a “liberal activist” by her criticizers

In her two years on the Supreme Court she has not made any major decisions reflecting her ideology but it is clear from her writings and opinions that she is a liberal with a passion for race and equality and rights, specifically with criminal defendants

Elena Kagan

Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Justice Kagan was nominated to the Supreme

Court by President Obama and she assumed her position in 2010

Justice Kagan has commented on the “unitary executive” saying that she believes that the Executive Branch to control the Executive Branch giving the Executive Branch more power in her eyes.

Because of Justice Kagan’s short stint on the Supreme Court and the fact that she has excused herself from half of the heard cases in her time she has not made a big decision reflecting her jurisprudence

Works Cited

“Anthony M. Kennedy.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 1 July 2009. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://topics.nytimes.com/ top/ reference/ timestopics/ people/ k/ anthony_m_kennedy/ index.html>.

Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. N.d. Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. N.d. Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. N.d. Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

Associate Justice Elena Kagan. N.d. Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. N.d. Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito. N.d. Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. N.d. Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer. N.d. Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

“Biographies of Current Supreme Court Justices.” Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, 20 May 2011. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts. N.d. Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court of the United States, n.d. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ biographies.aspx>.

“District of Columbia v. Heller.” Legal Information Institute: Cornell Law School. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2011. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/ supct/ html/ 07-290.ZS.html>.

Liptak, Adam. “Ginsburg Shares Views on Influence of Foreign Law on Her Court, and Vice Versa.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 11 Apr. 2009. Web. 21 May 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/ 2009/ 04/ 12/ us/ 12ginsburg.html?ref=ruthbaderginsburg>.

- - -. “Sotomayor Guides Court’s Liberal Wing.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 27 Dec. 2010. Web. 21 May 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/ 2010/ 12/ 28/ us/ politics/ 28bar.html?ref=soniasotomayor>.

Works Cited (Cont.)

Maier, Pauline. “Justice Breyer’s Sharp Aim.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 21 Dec. 2010. Web. 21 May 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/ 2010/ 12/ 22/ opinion/ 22maier.html?ref=stephengbreyer>.

The Oyez Project. “Hamdan v. Rumsfeld.” US Supreme Court Media: Oyez. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2011. <http://www.oyez.org/ cases/ 2000-2009/ 2005/ 2005_05_184?sort=ideology>.

- - -. “Morrison v. Olson.” US Supreme Court Media: Oyez. Oyez Inc., 2011. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.oyez.org/ cases/ 1980-1989/ 1987/ 1987_87_1279>.

- - -. “NASA v. Nelson.” US Supreme Court Media: Oyez. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2011. <http://www.oyez.org/ cases/ 2010-2019/ 2010/ 2010_09_530>.

“Politics and the Court.” Editorial. The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 4 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/ 2011/ 02/ 05/ opinion/ 05sat1.html?ref=clarencethomas>.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 9 July 2009. Web. 21 May 2011. <http://topics.nytimes.com/ top/ reference/ timestopics/ people/ g/ ruth_bader_ginsburg/ index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=ruth%20bader%20ginsburg&st=cse>.

“Sonia Sotomayor.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 1 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 May 2011. <http://topics.nytimes.com/ top/ reference/ timestopics/ people/ s/ sonia_sotomayor/ index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=sonia%20sotomayor&st=cse>.

“Sonia Stotmayor.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 1 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 May 2011. <http://topics.nytimes.com/ top/ reference/ timestopics/ people/ s/ sonia_sotomayor/ index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=sonia%20sotomayor&st=cse>.

The Supreme Court of the United States. “Members of the Supreme Court of the United States.” Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court of the United States, 16 May 2011. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/ about/ members_text.aspx>.

Toobin, Jeffery. “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” The New Yorker. Condé Nast Digital, 25 May 2009. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.newyorker.com/ reporting/ 2009/ 05/ 25/ 090525fa_fact_toobin>.

United States Supreme Court Justices. N.d. WhatIfPost.com. N.p., 5 May 2011. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://whatifpost.com/ this-weeks-health-snapshots-may-5-2011.htm>.