PL 101 The Supreme Court’s Fragile Legitimacy

Flashcards about the US Supreme Court

What are some of the issues that the Supreme Court has recently dealt with?

Reproductive Rights, Affirmative Action, Voting Rights, Presidential Immunity, Criminal Justice, Right to Die, Hate Speech, Press Rights, Marriage Equality, Transgender Rights, Rights of the Undocumented, Death Penalty, Firearm Regulation, and Federal Aid to Religious Schools

According to Alexander Hamilton in Federalist #78, why is the judiciary the least dangerous branch?

It has no influence over the sword or the purse, and can take no active resolution. It has neither force nor will, but merely judgment, and depends on the executive for the efficacy of its judgments.

What are the critical properties of the Supreme Court?

Justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the size of the Court is set by Congress, Congress establishes lower federal courts, and Justices serve life terms during good behavior.

What is the Rule of Four?

The number of justices that must agree to grant a writ of certiorari.

What is Stare Decisis?

Let the decision stand

According to Amy Gajda, what happens within the federal and state court system when the Supreme Court suggests a particular constitutional provision means X?

All lower courts must also find that it means X.

What does Max Weber say is the basis of every system of authority?

A belief by virtue of which persons exercising authority are lent prestige.

What is originalism?

Taking the words of the Constitution as they were promulgated to the people of the United States, and considering the fairly understood meaning of those words.

Who are the justices considered to be the Court's Originalist Wing?

Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett

Who are the justices considered to be the Court's Living Constitution Wing?

Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown

What is the Living Constitution Approach?

Justices attend to the evolving meaning of constitutional guarantees and have a willingness to weigh the social and economic consequences of competing constitutional interpretations.

What case established judicial review?

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

What is the duty of the judicial department according to Akhil Redamar?

To say what the law is.