psc notes 3
Judicial Review
Definition: The Supreme Court striking down laws or actions as unconstitutional.
Not explicitly stated in the Constitution.
Closest mention: Alexander Hamilton's Federalist 78, which suggested the Supreme Court probably has this power.
Origin: Established by the Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison (1803).
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Background:
In 1800, John Adams lost the presidential election to Thomas Jefferson.
In his final days, Adams created new federal judgeships and appointed people, including William Marbury as a D.C. Justice of the Peace.
Marbury's commission (official appointment letter) was signed but not delivered by Adams' Secretary of State.
Thomas Jefferson took office and appointed James Madison as the new Secretary of State. Jefferson explicitly ordered Madison not to deliver the remaining commissions, including Marbury's.
Marbury sued Madison to compel the delivery of his commission.
Legal Questions (posed by the Court):
Does Marbury deserve his commission? Yes.
Has it been illegally withheld? Yes.
Can the Court order the delivery of the commission (via a writ of mandamus)? This was the complex question.
Court's Reasoning:
Congress, through Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, had granted the Supreme Court the power to issue writs of mandamus in cases under its original jurisdiction.
However, the Constitution specifically lists the types of cases that fall under the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction. Congress cannot expand or contract this list.
Therefore, the Court ruled that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional because it expanded the Court's original jurisdiction beyond what the Constitution allowed.
Outcome:
Marbury ultimately did not receive his commission because the Supreme Court determined it lacked the constitutional power to order its delivery.
Crucially, in declaring part of the Judiciary Act unconstitutional, the Court established the power of judicial review.
This was a clever ruling: The Court gave President Jefferson what he wanted (Marbury didn't get his commission and the Court didn't order him to act), while simultaneously asserting its most significant power – the ability to strike down laws as unconstitutional.
Key Takeaway: Judicial review is not explicitly stated in the Constitution but was established as precedent by the Supreme Court itself in Marbury v. Madison.
Jurisdiction
Definition: Refers to the kinds of cases that courts are authorized to hear.
Original jurisdiction: Cases that must start (originate) at the U.S. Supreme Court (e.g., lawsuits between states).
Appellate jurisdiction: Cases that reach the Supreme Court only after being appealed from lower courts (they do not start at the Supreme Court).
Spatial Model of Policy
Concept: A way to visualize political preferences on a left-to-right continuum (e.g., 1 = \text{liberal}, 10 = \text{conservative}).
Applies to policies like economic, environmental, or abortion policy.
Status Quo (SQ): The current policy position (e.g., 3).
To move the SQ, the House of Representatives, Senate, and President must all agree on a new policy position. Any single institution can block a policy change, effectively keeping the SQ in place.
Key Terms:
Ideal point: An institution's (House, Senate, President) most preferred policy location on the continuum (e.g., Senate's ideal point might be 6).
Indifference point: A policy location where an institution would be equally satisfied with either the existing status quo (SQ) or the proposed new policy. It is found by reflecting the SQ across the ideal point. For example, if SQ is 3 and ideal point is 5, the distance is |5-3| = 2. The indifference point is 5 + 2 = 7.
Win set: The range of policy values where an institution