Part of GOV4A Revision for AQA From the Aquinas Politics Department

1. GOV4A
The Government of the US
Scott Thomas | May 2013

2. Exam success is
not a lottery!
Know your
terms
Know the
Articles
Know the
Examples

3. Session 2
The Judicial Branch of
the US

4. The Judicial Branch
Constitutional Role
Power of Judicial Review
Appointments
Political Significance
Protection of Citizen’s Rights
Relationship with Other
Branches

5. Supreme Court & The Constitution
Judicial Branch is Article Three
Section 1 sets the
Supreme Court out as
the only Judicial Power
No provision for number
of Supreme Court justicesNo mention of Judicial
Activism
Congress can ‘ordain and
establish’ new courts
Judges shall hold their
office for life in ‘good
behaviour’

6. Structure of Federal Courts
Supreme Court sits at the
top of the Federal Court
system
Court rejects 96% of the
Cases brought to it
Lower courts hear
majority of cases
United States Supreme Court
US Court of Appeals
US Court of Appeals
1 Court – 9 Justices
1 in each of 11 circuits
1 in DC
1 Federal Circuit
1 in each 94 districts

7. Membership of the Supreme Court
8 Associate Justices
1 Chief Justice
All have an ideological stance
Number is set by Congress
FDR threatened to ‘pack the court’ when they
continually struck down New Deal legislation
Life tenure in good behaviour

8. Justice Date Appointed Sitting President Ideological Balance
Chief Justice
John Roberts
2005 George W Bush (R) Right Leaning
Associate Justices
Antonin Scalia 1986 Ronald Reagan (R) Right Leaning
Anthony Kennedy 1988 Ronald Reagan (R) Swing Vote
Clarence Thomas 1991 George H W Bush (R) Right Leaning
Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1993 William J Clinton (D) Left Leaning
Stephen Breyer 1994 William J Clinton (D) Left Leaning
Samuel Alito 2005 George W Bush (R) Right Leaning
Sonia Sotomayor 2009 Barack H Obama (D) Left Leaning
Elena Kagan 2010 Barack H Obama (D) Left Leaning
Membership of the Supreme Court

9. The Roberts Court
John Roberts
Antonin Scalia Anthony
Kennedy
Clarence
Thomas
Ruth Bader
Ginsburg
Stephen
Breyer
Samuel Alito Sonia
Sotomayor
Elena Kagan

10. Left Right
The Ideology of the Roberts Court
John Roberts
Antonin Scalia
Anthony
Kennedy
Clarence
Thomas
Ruth Bader
Ginsburg
Stephen
Breyer
Samuel Alito
Sonia
Sotomayor Elena Kagan
SWING VOTE

11. Judicial Philosophy
President’s often want to appoint Justices that
fit their own ideological image
Reagan: Bork, Scalia
Obama: Sotomayor, Kagan
Justices are often seen as ‘conservatives’ or
‘liberals’
There are more classifications

12. Constructionist
Strict Constructionist
Interprets the Constitution in a literal or ‘strict’ way, look at
the original intent of the Founding Fathers. Favour States
rights over Federal Government. Tend to be labelled as
‘conservatives’
Loose Constructionist
Interprets the Constitution in a loose way, in which they
‘read between the lines’. They look at the context of the
issue and the constitution. Favour federal government power
over that of states power and rights. Tend be labelled as
‘liberals’

13. Activism and Restraint
Judicial Activism
Justices should use their position to promote desirable social
ends. Activist courts have a large docket
Judicial Restraint
Justices should not ‘legislate’ from the bench, leaving this to
the legislature and executive. Greater stress should be
placed upon the precedent set by previous courts.
Restrained courts have a smaller docket

14. Appointments Process
Vacancy
Occurs
Search is
Instigated
FBI
Background
Checks
Senate
hearings and
confirmation
Death, Retirement or Impeachment
Advice sought from:
• Advisors
• Congress
• Professional Bodies
Nominees can come
from:
• Lower Courts
• Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
• Academia
FBI Checks and
interview with the
President. ABA gives
an informal rating
Clarence Thomas is
the last nominee to
receive lower than
perfect
SJC holds hearings for
the candidate
Sometimes candidates
withdraw if hearing is
bad
Vote on the floor. If
committee rules
against, Senate
typically will

15. Notable Appointments
Earl Warren
Appointed by
Eisenhower who
said it was the
biggest god dam
mistake of his life
Robert Bork
Reagan’s
controversial
nomination, the
subject of a
negative ad
campaign. Failed
to confirm
David Souter
Appointed by
George H W Bush
he has turned out
to be one of the
most liberal
members of the
Court

16. Why is this important?
Presidents seek to leave a
legacy in the court
One of their ideological
persuasion
The Court will outlive the
Presidency
Examples:
Reagan & George H W Bush
placed right leaning judges on
the Court – Bush v Gore 2000?

17. Judicial Review
No constitutional basis for this power
Found in Marbury v Madison 1803
Allowed the Court to rule:
• Acts of Congress
• Executive Actions
• State Law
UNCOSTITUTIONAL

18. The Courts you Need to Know
Year Court Year Court Year Court Year Court
1953
Warren
Court
1968
Warren
Court
1983
Burger
Court
1998
Rehnquist
Court
1954 1969 1984 1999
1955 1970
Burger
Court
1985 2000
1956 1971 1986
Rehnquist
Court
2001
1957 1972 1987 2002
1958 1973 1988 2003
1959 1974 1989 2004
1960 1975 1990 2005
Roberts
Court
1961 1976 1991 2006
1962 1977 1992 2007
1963 1978 1993 2008
1964 1979 1994 2009
1965 1980 1995 2010
1966 1981 1996 2011
1967 1982 1997 2012

19. Plessy v Ferguson 1856
Upheld segregation as
constitutional with the
reference to separate but
equal
Arose from the Louisiana
Separate Car Act for Rail
carriages

20. Brown v Board of Education 1953
This case overturns Plessy v Ferguson
1896
Established that separate was
inherently unequal in the provision
of facilities
Paved the way for integration
Ruled on through the Equal
Protection Clause of the 14th
Amendment
WARREN

21. Mapp v Ohio 1961
Ruled that evidence obtained in the violation of
the Fourth Amendment cannot be used in court
Arose from a dispute in Ohio which police didn’t
have a warrant and found large amounts of
pornography
WARREN

22. Engel v Vitale 1962
Ruled that it is unconstitutional
for school prayers in public
schools
This violates the First
Amendment
This was the basis for more cases
such as Wallace v Jaffree which
banned meditation in Alabama
WARREN

23. Gideon v Wainwright 1963
Under the Sixth Amendment
right to counsel is a
fundamental right
States must provide defence
counsel should the defendant
be unable to afford it
WARREN

24. Griswold v Connecticut 1965
Protected the right to Privacy
Connecticut law prohibited the
use of contraception
Supreme court ruled that it
violated the right to marital
privacy
Does the constitution provide for a
right to privacy specifically?
WARREN

25. Miranda v Arizona 1966
Ruled that the accused must
be read their legal rights prior
to questioning by the police
Basis is the fifth amendment
which protects against Self
Incrimination
WARREN

26. Roe v Wade 1973
Ruled that abortion was legal
in the first trimester
Found on the right to Privacy
under the due process clause
of the 14th Amendment
Texas law made it illegal to
assist a woman to get an
abortion
Is this legislating from the Bench?
BURGER

27. United States v Nixon 1974
Ruled that no person not even
the President is completely
above the law
Also ruled that the President
cannot use executive privilege
as an excuse to withhold
evidence in criminal trials
Started the ball rolling on Nixon
Impeachment
BURGER

28. Planned Parenthood v Casey 1992
Rules on abortion in
Pennsylvania were challenged
The court upheld the right to
an abortion but ruled that 1
out of 5 restrictions was
unconstitutional
Pennsylvania State made patients go through many
‘hoops’ before an abortion
REHNQUIST

29. Clinton v City of New York 1998
Ruled that the Line Item Veto
from the Line Item Veto Act of
1996 was unconstitutional as it
gave the President power to
amend legislation duly passed
by Congress
43 States give Governors
the power of Line Item Veto
Line Item Bill appeared in the
House in Feb 2012
REHNQUIST

30. George W Bush v Albert Gore 2000
Votes in Florida were close
Supreme Court ruled that
manually recounting a precinct
was wrong and the entire state
must be recounted
Proper recounting by deadline
of Dec 12 would be
unconstitutional
Decision handed down on Dec 11
REHNQUIST

31. Gonzales v Carhart 2007
Court upheld the Partial-Birth
Abortion Ban of 2003
It did not impose a burden on
the ability to have an abortion
as presented under Roe V
Wade and Planned Parenthood
v Casey
Shown as a turning in the
conservatism of the Roberts Court
ROBERTS

32. National Federation of Independent
Business v Sebelius 2012
Court upheld Affordable Care
Act requiring Americans to
purchase Health Insurance by
2014
Roberts ruled that a mandate
to buy insurance was an
exercise of Congress’ power to
collect taxes
ROBERTS

33. Case Visualisation
Year Case Year Case Year Case Year Case
1953 Brown v BoE 1968 1983 1998 Clinton v NY
1954 1969 1984 1999
1955 1970 1985 2000 Bush V Gore
1956 1971 1986 2001
1957 1972 1987 2002
1958 1973 Roe v Wade 1988 2003
1959 1974 US v Nixon 1989 2004
1960 1975 1990 2005
1961 Mapp v Ohio 1976 1991 2006
1962 Engel v Vitale 1977 1992 PP v Casey 2007 Gonzales v Car
1963 Gideon v Wain 1978 1993 2008
1964 1979 1994 2009
1965 Griswold v CT 1980 1995 2010
1966 Miranda v AZ 1981 1996 2011
1967 1982 1997 2012 NFIB v Sebelius

34. Hollingsworth v Perry 2013
California’s Prop 8 Case:
CSC ruled Same Sex Marriage
legal in 2008
Prop 8 Banned them
Opponents are seeking a court
ordered expansion of
traditional marriage Case is on-going – May appear
before the Court
ROBERTS

35. Judicial Synoptic Links
 UK Judiciary are far less partisan and far less powerful
 Appointments go through Judicial Appointments
Commission rather than Senate or Parliamentary
Hearings
 Parliamentary Sovereignty undermines UKs judicial
power
 Can’t rule on constitutionality but only make a
declaration of incompatibility
 Judges must retire at aged 70

36. Exam success is
not a lottery!
Know your
terms
Know the
Articles
Know the
Examples

37. Answer the question, the whole
question and nothing but the
question