Judicial Branch Importance

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The Judicial Branch is one of three branches of government that play a crucial role in the United States. Not only is it responsible for protecting and carrying out the textual and living form of the Constitution, but also insuring that we, as citizens, are not being violated by the laws that are established. Although checks and balances are present to ensure that the judicial branch, legislative branch, and executive branch don’t become to powerful over the other, each is still very susceptible to political forces; and this includes the judiciary branch. The Judicial Branch is responsible for several things; interpreting federal laws and the U.S. Constitution, resolving legal disputes, trying criminal and civil cases, determining guilt/innocence/degree of culpability/etc., imposing sentences and other legal punishment, protecting individual constitutional rights, consider writs/motions/other legal actions, managing the docket and judicial caseload, and checking the power of the legislative and executive branches. As it comes to the Supreme Court, there is one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices, which are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate (The White House). And because the President is able to pick the judge they want to serve, more than likely they are going to represent their own viewpoints. It has been noted in the past that it is very rare to nominate a judge from a different political party than the President’s because one wants their party to have more power/influence over the other; they want to have more seats. As stated in “Nomination Process for Federal Judges/Supreme Court Justice: The President’s Role,” “Overall, about 90 percent of judicial appointments since the time of Franklin Ro... ... middle of paper ... ...mething that displays the importance between Marbury v. Madison and U.S. v. Nixon was that, “In reaching its decision, in this case, the Supreme Court drew upon the famous statement of Justice John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison, 1803: “It is emphatically the province and the duty of the court to say what the law is” (Guidance Associates). And judicial review has played a significant role in this by allowing courts to have the power to fully enforce the Constitution to protect the public. Checks and balances played a significant role in both Marbury v. Madison and U.S. v. Nixon; without the Constitution and its powerful influence in Marbury v. Madison, such examples from U.S. v. Nixon would not have been in existence. These cases are significant still to this day because it insured that the Constitution fully became the “law of the land,” and continues to do so.

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