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Supreme Court Case Analysis

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a) Article III of the Constitution provides a foundation for the federal courts. i) The judicial system represents 1 of 3 branches of the federal government, yet the Article is extremely open ended. (1) The appointment of a federal judge is decided by the President, as state in Article II, Section 2, Clause 2. (2) The vague nature in regards to SCOTUS: , “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.” (a) The phrase, ‘during good behavior’ is indicative of a lifelong term. This can be traced back to the Settlement Act of 1701. (i) This document states …show more content…

i) Alexander Hamilton (in the Federalist Papers) appointed judges were viewed as the ‘least dangerous’ of all branches of the federal government. They held no power of the sword or the purse. (1) This idea is outdates, federal courts hold extensive influence on national laws and policies. (2) Supreme Court rules on decisions regarding the sword and the purse. ii) Tenure of a SCOTUS judge is on average 26.1 years, however in the beginning, it was closer to 7.5 years. c) American process of life tenure is fundamentally flawed, resulting in justices remaining in positions of power for significantly longer periods of time than ever before…thus reducing the Efficacy of democratic checks, provided by the appointment process. 2) A-political a) It was intended that the Supreme Court would be a federal branch of government, immune to politics and personal philosophies. Politics, in general, prevent federal judges from fully upholding the constitution as it was meant to be interpreted. Lengthy terms-> litany of problems. i) Must be independent & a-political (a) 57% of voters are very concerned that Federal judges make decisions based upon political agenda rather than rightful …show more content…

(a) NYT’s: justices are significantly more likely to support the plaintiff if their appeal matches the courts political viewpoint.. (i) Justice Scalia, voted in support of free speech rights of conservative speakers 3 times as often as liberal speakers. (ii) From 1986 to 2011, Scalia voted in favor of conservative cases 65% of the time. (4) Elena Kagan is the 4th women to ever serve as a supreme justice. (a) Higher court turnover rates could potentially benefit the court by creating more opportunities for gender and race diversification. (5) Term limits would reduce political influence. (a) Filling Supreme Court seats is a ‘cardinal presidential power’, however life tenure creates a game of political chance. Court justices strategically plan their retirement so as to ensure that the presiding judge will have similar political views (ie. Democratic vs. republican) 1. Wait for a like-minded president. 2. This causes politically minded justices to remain in court longer, thus leading to a life tenure. (refer to Harvard

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