AP Government Unit 5 Schedule
The Judicial Branch- Chapter 16
“Whoever attentively considers the different departments of power must perceive, that, in a government in which they are separated
from each other, the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the
Constitution; because it will be least in a capacity to annoy or injure them. The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the
sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of
every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction
either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have
neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy
of its judgments.”
-Federalist #78
Overriding Questions
1. What is the process that the Supreme Court uses to add cases to its docket?
2. How are the justices politically insulated and how are they tied to public opinion?
3. What guides the Court when granting a writ?
4. How does the Judicial Branch make policy? How has that role changed over time?
Name: _________________ Hour: ___ AP Government – Mr. W.B. Brooks
#
U5HW1
U5HW2
U5HW3
U5HW4
U5HW5
Unit 5 - Federal Courts
U5CL1
U5CL2
U5CL3
U5CL4
U5CL5
RJ
RG
Assignment Title
Due
Date
Read Chapter 16 and take notes (Due by end of 3rd day of Unit)
Reading – “Five to Four”
Take Home FRQ
Reading – Rostow “ The Democratic Character of Judicial Review
Test Corrections (Required if you scored BELOW 80% on Summative)
Greenhouse Article – “A Surprising Snapshot” 
Reading – Liptak “Clarence Thomas SC Silence” 
Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Ginsburg Interviews
Reading Quiz (Only Over Textbook Chapters)
Unit Summative / Exam (MC, FRQ, DBQ – Possible Formats)
Unit Reading Journal (Completed By 3rd Day of Unit)
Reading Groups (Done In Class On Day Before Unit Exam)
 Means Two HW Passes To Exempt
Readings: Edwards, George C.,et all. Government in America: Chapter 16
Relevant Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Time and wire service articles
Areas of Study:
 Scope of Judicial Power
 Federal Judicial System
 The Politics of Appointing Judges
 Supreme Court and its Operation
 Role of the Courts in Policy Process
 First Amendment and its clauses
 Participants in the Judicial System
 District Courts & Court of Appeals
 Supreme Court
 Accepting Cases
 Making Decisions - Opinions
 Historical Review
 The Courts and Democracy
Assignments:
 See Schedule for Unit (Above)
Points
Possible
50
50
100
25
100
100
50
100
100
50
50
After studying this Unit, students should be able to:
• Explain why the American judicial system is called an
adversarial system.
• Identify the major actors in the judicial system and explain
their functions and responsibilities.
• Describe the functions of federal district courts, courts of
appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Summarize judicial selection procedures for federal judges
and justices.
• Discuss the backgrounds of judges and justices.
• Describe the role of the courts as policymakers.
• Summarize procedure in the U.S. Supreme Court, including
the “discuss list,” oral argument, the conference, and opinion
writing.
• Explain the importance of opinion writing at the Supreme
Court level and describe the different types of opinions.
• Identify factors used by the Supreme Court in deciding which
cases to accept for review.
• Analyze the contrasting positions of judicial restraint and
judicial activism.
• Trace the historical evolution of the policy agenda of the
Supreme Court.
• Examine the ways in which American courts are both
democratic and undemocratic institutions.
From Unit V – Federal Courts-Judicial Branch
(Chapter 16).
Name: _________________________ Hour: ___ AP Gov’t & Politics – W.B. Brooks
Unit 5, HW#2
“Four To Five”
1. In the first paragraph, it states that the Supreme Court is being “transformed.” What does that
mean and what trends do you see happening now and for the future of our Supreme Court?
2. Who is Roberts? What are his opinions and what views is he most likely to have? (Cite
examples of his mini-bio.)
3. Who are the “conservative” judges of our Supreme Court?
4. Who are the “liberal” judges of our Supreme Court?
5. What are some of the “ways” that conservatism has taken hold in our Supreme Court?
6. What is Kennedy’s mini-bio while being on the Supreme Court? Why is he so pivotal?
7. What is Steven’s mini-bio while being on the Supreme Court? Why is he so important?
8. What are the details of the Casey decision of 1992?
9. What is really significant (more than their lasting legacy, according to the reading) about
Presidents selecting Supreme Court Justices?
10. Why does the author say, “the liberals face… actuarial peril.”
Name: ______________________________________________ AP Government
U5HW#3: FRQ
1. The Constitution provides each of the three branches of government with the capacity to
limit and trump the powers of the other two.
a. Describe one way the president can check and balance the powers of the federal
judiciary.
b. Describe on way Congress can check and balance the powers of the federal
judiciary.
c. Describe on way the Supreme Court can check and balance the powers of the
executive branch.
d. Describe on way the Supreme Court can check and balance the powers of the
Congress.
U5HW#4
Eugene Rostow- Democratic Character of Judicial Review
1). “The attack on judicial review as undemocratic rests on the premise that the
Constitution should be allowed to grow without a judicial check”
Name three arguments Rostow uses to combat this argument and quote.
Study Guide for Chapter 16
1). Ideologically where would most strict constructionists be today? Activists? Where would they
have been fifty years ago?
2). What role did the Founders expect the Supreme Court to play?
3). Be able to articulate the primary issues of the three historic eras of the Court (1787-1865,
1865-1937, 1938-present).
4). Know the significance of the following monumental cases: Marbury v. Madison (1803) and
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
5). When given no chance to alter the composition of an increasingly belligerent Court what plan
was proposed by FDR in 1936? To what result?
6). In 1953 Earl Warren became Chief Justice. What characterized his tenure on the Court?
7). How does one become a Federal Judge?
8). In the US there is a dual court system. What does that mean?
9). The Supreme Court is an appellate court with discretionary authority. How many petitions are
received in a typical year and of those how many are actually heard?
10). What is the “rule of four”?
11). From the average citizens’ perspective what are the two prerequisites for getting a case
heard in the Supreme Court?
12). How are the final decisions made in the Supreme Court?
13). List a basic and fundamental restraint on judicial power.
14). List at least (3) Congressional checks on judicial power.
15). What role does public opinion play on Supreme Court decisions?
16). Explain the roots of and the meaning of getting “borked”
17). Name at least two contemporary criticisms of judicial activism.