the US Supreme Court and Civil Rights

what kind of court is the Supreme Court

an appellate court, hearing appeals to the rulings made by the circuit courts.

How has the Supreme Court changed in recent years

the number of cases it hears each year has been declining. It received 7,000 to 8,000 a year but will only hear 1%

How many cases has the SC heard in recent years compared to previously

has fewer cases now than at any time since the Civil War, there is no guarantee that a case will be heard by the Supreme Court.

How does the SC achieve independence

- justices are appointed for life

- vacancies do not occur regularly

- constitution prevents salary changes

- separation of powers protects the Court's independence

- ABA rates suitability of justices

- nominated by President and ratified by Senate

why is justices being appointed for life important

it means that the president or Congress cannot remove them if they make decisions they do not like

Give an example of a president not supporting the Supreme Court

Truman declared that 'whenever you put a man on the Supreme Court, he ceases to be your friend' referring to his own apointees voting against him in a decision

when can a SC justice be appointed

when a justice dies, retires or is impeached

Why is the lack of availability for appointments important

While constitution could change the number of justices, largely the other branches of government are prevented from packing the Court with their allies

What are the salaries of justices

in 2022, SC associate justices were paid $274,200 and the chief justice was paid $286,700. These salaries were fixed.

Why is justice's salaries being fixed important

it means they do not have to be concerned about repercussions from the president or Congress if they vote against them in a case

why is the President appointments being ratified by the senate important

- prevents one branch from dominating the Supreme Court and filling it with people of an ideology similar to theirs.

- legitimacy to the court being appointed by elected representatives

- protects it from the whim of public opinion

what is the role of ABA

rates the suitability of each of the justices nominated

why is ABA important to the independence of the ocurt

they are industry experts who are not politically motivated, the ABA helps to ensure that the Court is composed of people who understand and carry out the law rather than the will of the nominating party

what power foes the SC hold

carries out judicial review

why is the SC powerful despite only having one power

responsible for interpreting the meaning of the constitution. As they are interpreting a sovereign document, their decision on the meaning of the Constitution is effectively final - the only formal way to overturn a SC decision would be to change the doc itself.

describe the process by which a judge is appointed

- vacancy arises

- presidential action

- ABA rating

- Senate Judiciary Committee hearings

- Senate floor vote

give an example of when a vacancy arose from retirement

In 2022 Breyer announced in January 2022 that he would retire at the end of that SC term

give an example of Presidents appointing justices aligned with their ideology

Trump = Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett

Biden = Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson

give an example of the ABA ratings of current justices

all of the current justices are 'well qualified', except Thomas who is 'qualified'

what happens during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings

Holds hearings where it can question a nominee. At the end of the hearings the acommittee holds a vote which forms a recommendation to the senate.

give an example of the importance of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings

- Bork was rejected by the committee 9-5 and subsequently defeated in the Senate

- during Kavanaugh (2018) and Thomas (1991) allegations of sexual misconduct were levelled at nominees

give an example of the Senate floor vote being important

Thomas was narrowly approved by a 52-48 vote in 1991

what are presidential considerations for a judicial nominee

- experience

- the outgoing justice

- the demographics of the SC

- ideology of the nominee

what kind of experience would judicial nominees be expected to have

have experience as a judge and be qualified in law

why did Harriet Miers face criticism in the appointment process

she faced criticism in 2005 because she lacked experience as a judge

why might the outgoing justice be important

the president may be expected to appoint a justice of similar ideology to ensure senate approval but since 2005 these senate votes have become more partisan

why might the demographics of the SC be important in the appointment process

a president may wish to widen the representative nature of the SC through their appointments

give an example of a president diversifying the SC

Obama appointed two women, doubling the number that have ever served on the court and appointed the first Hispanic person.

Biden appointed the first African American woman, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

how can the ideology of a justice be found

from their previous rulings, although not always successful, it would be rare for it to be entirely wrong.

give an example of a Justice not aligning with a president's ideology when appointed by them.

Kennedy did remain a conservative, but a moderate one.

what is the judge who is ideologically in the middle of the nine justices

the 'swing justice'

give an example of a swing justice

Kennedy was the swing justice before the appointment of Alito to the Court in 2006.

what are the strengths of the appointment process

- length of the process

- ensures judicial independence

- ensure suitability of character

how long does the process of appointing a justice take

2-3 months

when is the length of the appointment process a problem

when there has been a death of a justice as this leaves only 8 justices on the SC

give an example when there only being 8 justices was important

Obama's executive order regarding DAPA was challenged in the SC after the death of Scalia. The 4-4 tie resulted in Obama's executive order being struck down because the decision of the lower court stood.

why is the length of the process an advantage

helps to ensure that candidates undergo vetting and that they are fully suitable for the post on the SC.

why is it important judges undergo a lot of scrutiny

because of the power judicial review gives to the Court, it is vital justices are well qualified

how does the appointment process ensure judicial independence

appointed by president, ratified by senate, life tenure and outside of political influence

give an example of the SC demonstrating its independence

2021 SC voted to force Trump to hand over White House documents to Congress despite 3 of the justices being nominated by Trump

how is the quality of justices ensured

FBI and White House background checks are followed by a full senate hearing using the ABA rating

how is the suitability of justices ensured

length and detail of the process alongside background checks and media scrutiny.

what are the weaknesses of the appointment process

- politicisation

- character of anonymity

- length of the process

how has the appointment system become politicised

since 2006 appointments have seen party-line votes in the senate, with relatively few defections across the aisle. Irrespective of the qualifications of the candidates, nominees put forward will be supported by their party.

how many Republicans voted for Jackson in 2022

3

how many democrats voted for Jackson

50

how many Republicans supported the appointment of Kavanaugh

49, 0 voted against

how many Democrats voted against Kavanaugh

48

why can the role of the Senate Judiciary questionable

During the hearings of Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan and Gorsuch the nominees spoke for an average of 33% of the time over 4 days of hearings while the rest of the time was taken up with senators talking.

Given the aim of the nomination process is to find the suitability of a candidate, its success can be questioned when the nominee speaks so little.

how does the President politicise the process

they try and appoint someone with an ideology that aligns with their own

in jan 2022 how did the SC act against Trump's wishes

a short unsigned note from the SC defied Trumps; request to prevent Congress from accessing White House documents from 6 January 2021. The only dissent was Thomas, not any of the three appointments Trump made to the court

give an example of the media politicizing the appointment process

protests against the appointment of Kavanaugh and the coverage underlined just how political appointments have become

describe an example of the influence of Pressure groups on judicial appointments

- during the appointment of Gorsuch, donors to the Judicial Crisis Network gave $10 million to support his appointment having given $7 million to oppose Merrick Garland

- Demand Justice launched a $1 million campaign to support Jackson's nomination

why can ABA ratings be negative

ABA has no constitutional standing and its members are unaccountable yet their rating of a candidate can have a huge effect on that candidate's chances

why has politicisation of the Supreme Court been defended

because the unelected and unaccountable nature of the Supreme Court. The only mandate they can claim is they were appointed by representatives in two branches of government.

what is public policy

the policy created by federal government

How can the Supreme Court control public policy

because the SC can uphold, strike it down or choose not to hear a case. The outcome could be that a SC ruling allows an existing policy to continue, removes a policy or in some cases even creates new policy.

give an example of the Supreme Court creating new policy

in Citizens United v FEC (2010) the SC allowed for the development of Super - PACs which would have previously been impossible due to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. They therefore had a substantial role in shaping policy surrounding elections in the USA.

give an example of the SC upholding policy

it upheld Obamacare allowing continued enforcement of the law

How can not hearing a case be significant

it means the ruling of the lower court still stands

give an example of the Supreme Court refusing to hear a case

Refused to hear the case of Planned Parenthood of Arkansas v Jegley which challenged Arkansas' strict regulation of the 'abortion pill' and would have left the state with one abortion provider. In failing to act, it allowed the law to come into face, shaping policy in its inaction.

what are right protected in the constitution known as

'constitutional rights'

What other rights do US citizens have

stares will pass laws regarding additional rights of US citizens, such as driving age, drinking age and age of consent

why has the constitution given the Supreme Court a lot of control over rights

because the constitution is vague, the court has been able to rule on a range of rights over time, supporting abortion, same-sex marriage and gun-rights

what's the most notable protection of rights in the constitution

the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments of the constitution

what does 'liberal' mean

the center and center left usually focused on individual rights, equality of opportunity and more state intervention, particularly in welfare

what does 'conservative' mean

a focus on traditional social values and neoliberal economics

what was ruled in Trump v USA (2024)

granted Trump immunity for Presidential action

what was decided in the Dobbs v jackson's women's health

made the judgement that overturned Roe v Wade (federal protection for abortion). Gave states power to make healthcare decision laws.

Snyder v Phelps (2011)

Held that hateful speech is still protected under the First Amendment.

DC v Heller (2008)

overturned law in DC that limited concealed gun ownership.

Carpenter v US (2018)

digital search required required a warrant in the same way as a traditional search. Interpreting new law.

Obergefell v Hodges (2015)

Same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

How can SC rulings infringe on rights

by attempting to protect one groups' rights, the ruling may infringe on another groups'

Give an example of a SC ruling expanding and limiting rightse

In the case of Obergefell v Hodges (2015), the rights of the LGBTQ+ community were protected while the rights of religious people like Kim Davis, who had refused to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples, were infringed upon.

give an example of religious rights rulings infringing on others

in Burwell v Hobby Lobby (2014) the religous rights of employers were placed above the rights of women

What practical limitation does the SC face in dealing with rightss

the Court only hears about 1% of cases put to it in a year, this means the vast majority of people who feels their rights have been infringed upon will never be heard.

give an example of the SC failing to protect one groups' rights by failing to hear a case

in June 2018, the court declined to hear an appeal from a florist who had refused to make an arrangement for a same-sex couple referring it back to the lower court, in doing so shied away from involvement in this controversial issue.

who enforces SC rulings

the power of the president or congress, or the states

give an example of a SC ruling being enforced against a President's wishes

Citizens United v FEC (2010) was enforced despite a President not liking

How has the SC been ignored in its rulings

in the four cases regarding Guantanamo bay between 2004 and 2008, the Court always ruled in favour of the detainees. That these cases kept coming back to the SC suggests a weakness in its rulings.

How has Congress tried to ignore a ruling

in an attempt to circumvent the Guantanamo ruling Congress passed a new law, the Military Commissions Act which was then struck down by the SC.

what limits the conclusions the SC finds

there must be a basis for it in the Constitution

give an example of the constitution potentially being unfavourable in a case

in the case of Snyder v phelps, the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church may have appeared insensitive to the rights and feelings of the grieving family, but the Constitution clearly protects the right of free speech

how does the vagueness of the constitution benefit the Supreme Court

means that there is a good deal of breadth in the Court's interpretation, so it can use the constitution to protect rights even when they are not explicitly idenitfied.

give an example of when the vagueness of the constitution has allowed the SC to protect rights

the right to abortion and same sex marriage were legalised in this way

what are two conflicting ways the constitution can be interpreted

the Living Constitution and originalism.

what does the living constitution interpretation mean

Justices who believe that the Constitution is a living, evolving document believe in interpreting the text more widely in the context of modern society and expectations.

what do justices who belive in originalism interpret the constitution as

see the meaning of the constitution as fixed at the time of its writing. They believe that it does not evolve and interpreting it as evolving undermines the principles codified within it.

why do living constitutionalists suggest changing the constitution to fit modern society is important

otherwise it would become quickly outdated, particularly with changing beliefs on slavery, LGBTQ+ rights and women's rights.

how do originalists suggest judicial interetations changing the constitution undermine its role

they argue that interpreting the constitution makes the SC a political institution, undermining its independence and legitimacy in checking other branches of government

why is it argued that the SC shouldn't change the constitution

amendments process exists and has been used sucessfully.

why do living constitutionalists suggest the amendment process is insufficient

too difficult to allow the development of the constitution through elected branches of government

what is judicial activism

when justices use their own values to achieve their own social goals by interpreting the constitution.

give an example of liberal activism

Obergefell v Hodges, essentially created new policy where same-sex marriage was legal nationally. Ignored laws of 13 states where it was illegal and struck down Congress' Defence of Marriage Act.

The court overruled state and federally elected officials.

give an example of conservative judicial activism.

Citizens United v FEC: overturned at least part of a congressional law. Interpreted campaign finance as a free speech issue supporting conservative ideals.

what is judicial restraint

an approach to the constitution where judges put their own personal biases aside and try to limit the extent to which they overturn other institutions decisions.

when does judicial restraint allow judges to intervene

when there is a clear and obvious breach of the constitution

why does judicial restraint allow relatively little impact on policy

thinks it should limit influence on public policy and democratically elected bodies

give an example of liberal judicial restraint

Whole Woman's Health v Hellerstedt: continuing defence of Roe v Wade establishing women's right to abortion.