Judiciary
The Supreme Court and the Court
System
This presentation is the property of Dr. Kevin Parsneau for use by him and his
current students. No other person may use or reprint without his permission.
The Judiciary
• What are the constitutional powers of the
court and how have they changed?
• What is judicial review and the controversies
around it?
• How are members of the court selected?
• How does the court select its cases?
• What types of decisions does the court make?
• What affects court decisions?
Supreme Court Basics
• Authority
– Constitution- “judicial power”
– Membership (9 Justices)
– “Judicial Review”
– Marbury v. Madison 1803
Authority
Article III Section 1 - Judicial powers
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be
vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior
Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain
and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and
inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good
Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their
Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished
during their Continuance in Office.
Judicial Review Controversy
• Pros and Cons
Selection of Justices
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President nominates/ Senate confirms
Legacy
Experience
Ideology
Litmus Test
Representativeness
Legal Authority
Jurisdiction: a given court’s authority to hear a
particular kind of case.
• Supremacy Clause
• Original jurisdiction
• Appellate jurisdiction
Selection of Cases
• Appeals
– Constitutional Question
– Do not question facts of the case
• Standing
• Writ of certiorari
– 4 of 9 justices
• Solicitor General
Decisions
• Affirm
• Reverse
• Remand
Decisions
• Majority opinion
– i.e. the decision of the court
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Minority opinion
Concurring opinion
Dissenting opinion
amicus curiae
Chief Justice’s power
The Makeup of Decisions
• Precedent
– stare decisis “let the decision stand”
• “Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint”
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Warren (1953-1969)
Burger (1969-1986)
Rehnquist (1986-2005)
Roberts (2005-present)
• Ideology—liberals vs. conservatives
• Public Opinion?
Activism vs. Restraint
• Judicial Activism
– Courts should develop new legal principles to address
compelling social needs
• Judicial Restraint
– Courts should defer to elected officials and resist
exercising their authority
• Strict Constructionists
– An extreme version of judicial restraint
– Courts should be extremely narrow in their interpretation
of the law and adhere to the literal interpretation
Supreme Court and Public Opinion
Does the Supreme Court
worry about public
opinion?
Members of the Supreme Court do
not have to worry about re-election
because they are appointed for life.
However, some political scientists
argue that they worry about the
reputation of the court suffering if
its decisions are too far outside of
public opinion. These scholars
believe that the court relies on its
reputation for reason and fairness
because it lacks the Congress’s
taxation and legislative power and
it lacks the President’s executive
power.
Other Courts
• Supreme Court is the Court of Last Appeal
over two parallel court systems
• Federal
– Circuit Courts of Appeal
– Federal District Court
• State
– State Supreme Courts
– State Lower Courts
Other Issues
• Impact
• Upper Court Myth
• Legislative actions with judicial tools
Some thoughts
• Judicial review
• Highest court in the land
• The Court and politics
– Membership
– Public Opinion
• Its undemocratic and democratic effect on
democracy