By Tim Arakelian
Question
 The judicial branch is designed to be more
independent of public opinion than are legislative
branch or the executive branch. Yet, the Supreme
Court rarely deviates too far too long from the
prevalent public opinion.
 Describe in two ways that the Supreme Court is
insulated from the public.
 Explain how two factors work to keep the United States
Supreme Court from deviating too far from the public
opinion.
Describe in two ways that the Supreme Court is
insulated from the public.
 Appointed and not elected
 Justices don’t have to worry about the pressures of being
re-elected
 Serve Life Terms
 Court’s ability to set its own agenda
 Court has the ability to control what it does and how it
spends its time on different rulings
 Salaries can’t be reduced
 Public has limited access to court proceedings
Explain how two factors work to keep the
United States Supreme Court from deviating
too far from the public opinion.
 Reliance on other public officials to execute decisions
 Supreme court can be overruled with new laws and
amendments made by congress
 Concern for reputation of the justice or Supreme Court
itself
 Potential for impeachment of justices
 Congressional control of the Supreme Court appellate
(Appeal court decisions) jurisdiction and/or changing the
number of court justices on the Court