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List the nine Supreme Court justices.
The nine Supreme Court justices are:
Chief Justice Roberts, Jr.
Associate Justice Thomas
Associate Justice Alito
Associate Justice Sotomayor
Associate Justice Keagan
Associate Justice Gorsuch
Associate Justice Kavanaugh
Associate Justice Coney Barrett
Associate Justice Brown Jackson
Why do some say the 14th Amendment is the most important amendment in the Constitution?
Grants citizenship to those born in the United States or those who take a naturalization test
The Equal Protection Clause guarantees that all citizens have the right to equal protection by law
The Due Process Clause claims that states cannot deprive “any person of life, liberty, or process without due process.” - outlines/protects Habeas Corpus Rights
Incorporation brings the first ten amendments down to the state level
What is a Constitution?
a social contract between the citizens and the federal government
outlines the powers of the government
outlines citizens’ rights in the Bill of Rights
It is the Supreme Law of the Land - all actions of the government must be consistent with the Constitution
What is Judicial Review?
Supreme Court has the ability to validate or invalidate the actions of the legislative branch, executive branch, and lower courts.
List the five provisions of the United States Constitution.
Separation of Branches
Checks & Balances
Federalism
Bill of Rights
Rule of Law
What is federalism?
It is the division of powers between the states and the federal government.
concurrent powers - collection of taxes
states - establish public schools
federal - print money and declare war
Who appoints a Supreme Court Justice, who confirms their nomination, who votes on confirmation, and how long can they serve?
The president nominates a Supreme Court Justice. The Senate Judiciary Committee confirms the nomination. The Senate votes for them with 51 votes to win; if there is a tie then the Vice President will be the tiebreaker vote. If confirmed the Supreme Court Justice can serve until retirement, impeachment, or death.
Why in the past did most Supreme Court justices get confirmed overwhelmingly, but today the confirmation votes are very close?
The two parties used to have a quid pro quo relationship with one party being willing to vote for each other. However, the country is currently politically divided and no longer votes for one another.
based on ideology & partisan politics
Why did the Framers of the Constitution separate the government into three branches and what is one example of checks and balances?
The Framers understood a person cannot abuse power if they do not have power, therefore, they separated the powers to prevent one branch from becoming too powerful. For example, Congress can deny the President's appointment for a Supreme Court Justice.
What is an enumerated and what is an implied power?
Enumerated powers are powers granted by the United States that are listed in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. Anything that is not enumerated goes to the states. For example, Congress can form an Army of Navy.
Implied powers are powers not in the Constitution that are assumed if necessary to implement the enumerated powers adhering to the Necessary and Proper Clause. However, there must be a reasonable link. For example, the creation of the Air Force is connected to the creation of the Army and Navy.
What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?
Found in Article 4, it guarantees that states must respect the laws, judgments, and public documents of other states. For example, different states must honour marriage licenses from each other.
What is the Privileges and Immunities Clause?
Found in Article 4, prevents states from discriminating against people from another state. However, there can be reasonable discrimination such as Out-of-State tuition since people in state already pay through taxes.
What is the Commerce Clause?
The United States Congress has the right to regulate trade between states, overseas, and between native Americans; it is often used with the Necessary and Proper Clause.
How many Articles are there in the United States Constitution?
There are 7 articles in the United States Constitution.
What is a Writ of Habeas Corpus and what is the Writ of Certiorari?
A writ of habeas corpus is that you cannot be illegally detained/restrained from liberty without due process by the U.S. government.
A writ of Certiorari is a request for a higher court to review a lower court’s decision. The Court uses the writ of certiorari to select cases of legal significance or those raising constitutional issues for further consideration. 95% of these are denied.
A writ is necessary when you wish to appeal after a loss in district court.
What is the Supremacy Clause?
The Supremacy Clause states the Constitution is the Supreme law of the land, therefore, no action by the government can contradict it.
What is the significance of the 10th amendment and why is the 9th amendment considered the forgotten amendment?
The 10th Amendment is significant because it states any power not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution nor prohibited by the states is upon the states to decide.
The 9th Amendment is considered the forgotten amendment because the wording is too vague by saying anything could be a right.
What is the Rule of Law?
The U.S. is a nation of Laws
No one should be above the law
Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land
No law can contradict the Constitution
Citizens seek justice in a Court System
Why in his 60 Minutes interview did Associate Justice Scalia say that flag burning is constitutional although he was against it and why did he argue that the Supreme Court should not rule on cases involving such issues as gay marriage and abortion?
Associate Justice Scalia feels flag burning should be constitutional because it's protected by the First Amendment under freedom of expression.
Additionally, he believed if it's not written in the constitution, the decision should be directed to the states according to the 10th Amendment.
How many federal district courts are there, appellate courts, and federal supreme courts?
94 federal district courts
12 appellate/circuit courts
1 Supreme Court.
What is an executive order, executive privilege, and state of emergency?
An Executive Order is a federal directive by the President of the United States that has the full force of law, not legislation. For example, when FDR formed Japanese internment caps following the events at Pearl Harbour.
An Executive Privilege is a government official’s right to withhold information, such as confidential communication to courts or the legislative branch, from the public if it would adversely affect government operations and decision-making. For example, the Watergate Scandal under Nixon.
A State of Emergency is deemed by a government executive, such as a mayor, governor, or President if something threatens the health and safety of citizens. However, they must notify Congress and Habeas Corpus rights are suspended. For example, the events of September 11th and increased surveillance or Covid-19 and vaccine mandates.
What is appellate jurisdiction and what is original jurisdiction?
Appellate jurisdiction refers to the authority of a higher court to review and reconsider decisions made by a lower court. In simpler terms, it's the power of a court to hear and review appeals from cases decided by lower courts.
Original jurisdiction is the authority of the Supreme Court to hear a case for the first time, dealing with legal matters at their initial stage rather than reviewing decisions made by lower courts. For example, State v. State cases.
Why do some say the United States Constitution is a genius document?
The United States Constitution is considered a genius document because it can be amended, has separation of powers, checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, and the language is just vague enough to have different interpretations.
What are three examples of when free speech can be abridged and what is the most protected speech in America?
The examples of when free speech can be abridged are:
Obscenity - offensive speech or action (distribution), portraying sex and nudity contrary to societal standards
Defamation - hurting a person's reputation by spreading falsehoods
slander (spoken) & libel (written)
Fighting Words - abusing and insulting comments delivered face to face to a specific individual which incites illegal action or imminent and probable violence
Political speech is the most protected form of speech in the United States.
List the pros and cons of Affirmative Action.
Pros: Higher graduation rate of minorities, increases diversity in college campuses, public backing of affirmative action helps promote schools, promotes social mobility
Cons: Can be viewed form of reverse discrimination, lowers the standards of schools, can be inconsistent in rightfully judging who deserves benefits
What has been the trend of the Supreme Court in Establishment Clause cases and Free Exercise Clause cases over the last 50 years?
The Supreme Court has been consistent in cases involving the Establishment Clause in which no religion in public accommodations is generally favoured.
However, with the Free Exercise Clause, the Court has been inconsistent. In Yoder v. Wisconsin, the Supreme Court allowed Amish kids to drop out of school despite the minimum age being sixteen. Whereas, in Goldberg v. Weinberger, the Supreme Court does not permit a yamaka to be worn in the military.
List 3 traditions in the United States that some say violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
Politicians swearing in on the Bible
U.S Postal Stamps displaying religious images
Begining a new session of Congress with prayer
Printing "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency
