Supreme Court Case Study

Each judge has a different way of ruling court decisions, and the Presidents’ appointment of the Supreme Court judge plays a key role in how decisions are made. Judges either side on a strict construction or judicial activism.

Strict construction is the view that the United States Constitution should be interpreted on a narrow view, meaning that the people will only judge based on what the constitution clearly states. Hugo Black, Democrat, was an influential strict constructionist, when he argued that you could only rule based on what the Construction say verbatim. Although Franklin Roosevelt appointed him, he did not follow Roosevelt New Deal plans. This was apparent in Griswold v. Connecticut, when he ruled that there was no right to privacy. Richard Nixon also believed in strict construction, and

said that he would only appoint judges who followed a strict constructionist regime. He wanted to get away from Earl Warren’s judicial activism.
Judicial activism is a loose interpretation of the US Constitution.

This means that politicians can interpret the Constitution as they see fit. The biggest case in which judicial activism is implemented is Marbury v. Madison, judged by John Marshall. This case brought an expansion to judiciary power because of the new Judicial Review. Judicial Review allows legislation to be declared unconstitutional by the judiciary.

These two types of Constitutional interpretations lead to vastly different forms of government.

1. a) Congress is able to change the number of judges in the judiciary. This limits the president’s power because he has a limited number of judges that he can appoint, and if he has more judges on his side, more of his programs are more likely to be passed. Congress can also revise legislation declared unconstitutional, and form constitutional amendments.

b) The Executive branch holds checks on the Judiciary branch by appointing judges to federal courts. This helps (but doesn’t guarantee) that the President’s ideology will be represented throughout these courts. The most important of these judges is the US Supreme Chief Justice, currently John

Roberts.
c) A check held by the Judiciary is judicial review. This states that they can declare laws created by the other branches unconstitutional.
2. The federal courts have made major impact on our lives, specifically in the role of slavery and the economy. Judicial activism has helped politicians make these decisions, by giving them a broader definition.
Slavery was a defining issue in US history. Earlier court cases, specifically Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch c. Maryland, established the powers of the national government. Marbury gave the right to Judicial Review, and McCulloch helps establish that federal law overrules state laws. This became important in a slavery case, Dred Scott v. Sanford, which basically se the stage for the civil war. Dred Scott v. Sanford, ruled that black people were not actually “people”, and therefore didn’t have a right to a court case.
Balancing economic power between state government and national government continues to pose an issue. Many court cases deciding to side with the protection of private property. Many federal courts power is taken away through the states rules (for example, federal income tax, the use of injunctions, and limited work hours).