Unit 2 complete Study guide

What legal proposition did Marbury v. Madison establish?

Established the authority of the federal courts to declare a law passed by Congress unconstitutional and therefore void

What position did John Adams appoint William Marbury to?

Justice of the peace in DC

Why was Marbury unable to assume his office?

Last minute mixup due to change in admin Commission from Pres was never delivered by the Secretary of State

What did Marbury ask James Madison to do?

Deliver to him his commission

If the SC had issued the writ of mandamus

what would have happened?

4 legal issues Marshall considered in Marbury v. Madison

Does Marbury have legal right to position of justice of peace

In the Marbury opinion what did Marshall say about Marbury’s right to the commission?

Marbury was entitled to the office

What did Marshall say about whether the law gave Marbury a remedy?

There was non

Why was the issue of whether the SC could issue a writ to the Secretary of State controversial?

Fear that the judiciary might seize this opportunity to establish its authority to direct high officers of the executive branch how to discharge their official responsibilities

What did Marshall say about whether mandamus was the proper remedy?

They should show that some provision of the law authorizes him to bring him in that court Brought case directly to the SC

Why did Marshall conclude that the SC could not issue a writ of mandamus?

SC usually deals with appellate jurisdiction Therefore cant bring directly to SC without lower courts

What part of the Marbury opinion did the press criticize

An extraordinary writ could be in some circumstances directed to a high official of the exec branch

Which party won the Marbury case?

The republicans

Why did the result in Marbury make it seem that Pres Jefferson won?

He denied the order that would have forced Jefferson to issue a judicial commission

What was the “silver lining” for Marshall and the SC in the Marbury result?

Gotten the right to examine and decide the ultimate constitutionality of all acts of Congress that one challenged in Court

Why would an outside observer (like De Tocqueville)

after observing American political life

What 3 characteristics do American judges share with judges in other countries?

Duty of Arbitration- can only pronounce a case when litigation has arisen It pronounces on special cases

If American judges share these characteristics with judges in other countries

why do American judges have immense political power that judges in other countries don’t (How is the American constitution different from the French and British systems?)

In America

how can magistrates (judges) be “reduced to obedience”?

What part of the constitution outlines judicial review

Article III- Section 1 and 2

Federalist No. 78

Whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the constitution void” “Whenever a particular statute contravenes the constitution

What year did Marshall become chief

1801

Why couldn’t the Court decide Marbury in 1802

Congress canceled the SC from sitting

Marshalls 1st legal issue

Does Marbury have a right to the commission?

Does Marbury have a right to the commission?

Yes

What is Marshalls 2nd legal issue

If Marbury has a right

If Marbury has a right

does the law give him a remedy?

What is Marshalls 3rd legal issue

May the judiciary issue a writ of mandamus to force the President to enforce the law?

May the judiciary issue a writ of mandamus to force the President to enforce the law?

If matter of discretion (like foreign policy)

What is Marshalls 4th legal issue

May the SC issue a writ of mandamus?

May the SC issue a writ of mandamus?

No

One strategy the Supreme Court used to gain public acceptance of its rulings in Brown I was to wait until it issued Brown II. How much time elapsed between these two rulings?

A year

What did Brown 1 do?

Held racially segregated schools as unconstitutional

What did Brown 2 do

Acknowledged that the ruling created administrative problems but emphasized the primary responsibility and that the court would have to consider these problems in determining if putting significant effort

What did the “all deliberate speed” mandate issue

An apology for setting precise guidelines and also a recognition of a limitation

What was the limitation that the “all deliberate speed” mandate adressed?

The limitation of judicial powers

De jure segregation

Segregation enforced by laws prohibiting the integration of public schools

De facto segregation

Caused by socioeconomic conditions ex. housing patterns

Why does Rosenburg believe courts are “important to produce significant social reform”?

Brown’s failure to achieve immediate and widespread desegregation is instructive Constrained court- three institutional factors limit judicial policymaking Lack of judicial independence Judiciary’s lack of powers of implementation A dynamic court- emphasizes judiciary’s freedom

According to Matthew Hall

when are SC rulings least likely to be respected?

Counter majoritarian

The Court usually registers public opinion Lin legitimating policies of the prevailing national coalition

What did the Southern Manifesto attempt to bring about?

Challenges the authority of the Court and declared that they would bring about a reversal of Brown v. Board

What is the process for amending the Constitution

two thirds of house must deem necessary

How many SC decisions have been expressly overturned by constitutional amendments?

Six cases

What amendment overturned Chisholm v. Georgia?

11th amendment- lawsuits against states

What amendment overturned Dred Scott v. Sanford?

the 13th and 14th amendment- abolished slavery

What amendment overturned Pollock v. Farmers Loan and Trust Co.

16th amendment- federal income taz

What amendment overturned Oregon v. Mitchell

26th amendment- voting age

What amendment overturned Minor v. Happersett?

19th amendment- women’s suffrage

What amendment overturned Breedlove v. Suttles

14th amendment- polling tax

Between 1967 and 1990

how many times did Congress override the SC interpretation of statutes?

Can Congress overturn the SC’s interpretation of the Constitution by passing a statute?

No

In general terms

what dispute was U.S. District Judge Davies asked to rule on in Arkansas in the fall of 1957?

What is the writ of habeas corpus?

Trestraint on the power of the government

What did Lincoln allow the Union army to do when he suspended the writ?

Arrest civilians without a warrant

How can one view the conflict between Lincoln and Taney as a moment that the rule of law was respected

Taney did not bring Lincoln directly to the court

Who did Andrew Jackson appoint as Chief to succeed John Marshall

Roger B. Taney

What tentative agreement did the justices reach in their conference on the merits after oral argument in Dred Scott?

No need to determine whether the Missouri compromise was constitutional Need only to decide whether Missouri law governed the question fo whether Dred Scott remained a slave

Why did the decisions to dissent made by Justices McLean and Curtis change the tentative agreement the justices reached in conference?

Justice John Catron wanted to dabble in democratic politics

What ethical breach did Justice Catron engage in (there are two

but just identify the first one that sought to change a justice’s vote)?

How did Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes describe Dred Scott?

A self-inflicted wound that would take the court at least a generation to recover from

Rule of Law

We live with the government being forced to follow the law

Why do people obey authority?

Justice Breyer and Cicero- Fear of punishment

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

Gave land to Cherokees in Georgia This case struck down Georgia’s Cherokee law because it conflicted with a federal treaty Georgia loses to the Supreme Court Georgia does nothing

Brown 1

·      You can’t segregate

Brown 2

Must desegregate at all deliberate speed

What was the Southern Manifesto

Called for massive resistance to integration Many states pass laws supporting such

What act forced many states to start following Brown?

1964 Federal Civil Rights Act

When are cases most impactful

When handed out through lower courts and a popular opinion

How can Congress overturn SC rulings

Passing a statute

What gov body granted Mr. Ogden a license to operate a steamboat

Got from Robert Fulton who got from NY legislature

Where did Mr. ogden have an exclusive license to operate?

Across the Hudson River between NY and Elizabethtown

What gov body granted Mr. Gibbons a license to operate a steamboat?

Act passed by Congress in 1793

What does the Necessary and Proper Clause in Article 1, Section 8 empower Congress to do?

Make all laws which should be necessary and proper for carrying into execution of foregoing powers

What tax did the Maryland legislature pass in 1818?

A tax on all banks or bank branches operating in the state that were not chartered by the legislature

On what legal ground did Maryland attack the national bank?

Congress had not been granted by the Constitution any authority to charter a bank, and therefore the Bank of the US was not a true instrumentality of the federal gov.

On what express power did Marshall reject Maryland’s argument, that is reserved for Congress?

Raising and Collecting taxes

On what legal grounds dis Marshall conclude that Maryland could not tax the national bank?

It goes against the Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional

Why did the Court decide in Gibbons that commerce (buying and selling goods) included transportation?

A definition confined to the buying, selling, and trading of goods while ignoring how articles of commerce got from here to there was not acceptable

Why did Mr. Dagenhart sue the federal government in Hammer v. Dagenhart?

Wanted sons to work, after banning of child labor On the grounds that Congress’s authority to regulate interstate commerce did not reach this far

What constitutional provision did the Supreme Court rely on to strike down the federal law regulating child labor?

The condition of labor at factories within the states was a matter for regulation by the states rather than for regulation by Congress under the Interstate Commerce Clause

Very generally, what crimes were the Schechter brothers charged with?

Offering unfit chickens for sale and not offering minimum wage to workers

What two legal reasons did the Supreme Court give for ruling that Congress lacked the power to enact the National Industrial Recovery Act’s Live Poultry Code?

The chickens at issue were only being sold by intra-state buyers NIRA gave the Roosevelt administration too much power to control the economy through the use of the fair practice codes

What are congress’s enumerated powers

To lay and collect taxes To regulate commerce To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper

Supremacy Clause

The constitution shall by the supreme law of the land

Tenth amendment

Powers not delegated to federal gov by the Constitution is for the state or people

What was the facts of McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

Facts: The US established a national bank. Maryland taxed it. US did not pay. Maryland sued.

What was the legal issues of McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

Legal issue: Does the constitution empower Congress to create a national bank? If so, may Maryland Tax the bank

What was the law concerned in McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

Law: ·      Taxing power- Article 1 Sec. 8: have power to lay and collect taxes ·      Necessary and proper clause ·      Supremacy Clause

What was the holding of McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

Holding: Yes. No.

What was the legacy of McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

Legacy- the Constitution lives

What are the facts of Gibbons v. Ogden?

Facts: NY granted Ogden an exclusive license to operate in the Hudson River.  The feds granted Gibbons a license to operate in the Hudson River. Ogden sued. New York courts stopped Gibbons from operating his boats.

What are the legal issues in Gibbons v. Ogden?

Legal issues: Does the commerce clause give the federal government the power to regulate transportation between states

What law issues are in Gibbons v. Ogden?

Law: ·      Commerce Clause- Article 1 Sec. 8- “The congress shall have Power… to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states”

What are is the holding of Gibbons v. Ogden?

Holding: Yes, transportation is commerce So, Gibbons can operate, not asked to rule if exclusive right was okay

What did the Supreme Court do on Black Monday that Pres. Roosevelt really disliked

Invalidate three cases regarding New Deal legislation

What did FDR announce to Democratic Congressional leaders at the White House on Feb 5th, 1937

That the Court stood as a roadblock to the progressive reforms that the people want Called for reorganization of the SC

What reaction did the House Judiciary Committee Chairman have to the reorganization plan?

Chairman opposed the plan immediately, he had great influence over the rest of the committee

Who were the four horsemen of the SC

Willis Van Devanter James C Reynolds George C. Sutherland Pierce Butler

Who led the Roosevelts Judicial reorganization plan in the Senate?

Senator Joe Robinson