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Supreme Court Constructionism

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As the years have gone by the Supreme Court has changed several times over. The Court, once made up by white male Americans, now includes justices who are black, female, young and come from a variety of different backgrounds. Although the makeup of the Court has changed, the fundamental issues faced by the Court have not. In fact, the Court has always faced the philosophical battle between strict constructionists of the Constitution and loose constructionists. This battle of philosophy is prominent between Justice William J. Brennan and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. In order to understand this philosophical battle, one must first understand the difference between interpretations. A strict constructionist of the Constitution is a person …show more content…

Rehnquist was appointed to the court in 1971 and in 1986 was moved up to Chief Justice by Ronald Reagan. Rehnquist served on the court for 34 years and had a strict interpretation of the Constitution. He believed that the Constitution should be followed word for word, as the Framers intended. During his time on the court, three cases demonstrated this interpretation of the Constitution. In 1973, one of the most important cases of American history came forth to the Supreme Court. This case is known as Roe v Wade. In Roe v Wade the court was asked to vote on whether or not abortion should be legalized throughout the United States. Rehnquist, along with justice White, were the only two justices that voted against the legalization of abortion. Rehnquist stated that the Constitution did not embrace a woman’s right to an abortion. Another case that demonstrates his interpretation of the Constitution is shown in Furman v Georgia. In this case, Rehnquist voted that capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, should be allowed and was not a cruel or unusual punishment. The third case in which Rehnquist beliefs were shown was in the 2000 Bush v Gore case. In Bush v Gore, the court had to decide where or not the manual recounts of votes in Florida violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Constitution. Rehnquist, along with seven other justices, voted to end the recount of votes in Florida. These three …show more content…

Although I do agree with both these justices, I slightly lean more towards Brennan. I agree with Rehnquist when it comes to the death penalty. I personally believe that the death penalty is not a cruel or unusual punishment and should be implemented throughout the country. If a criminal gets the death penalty, I believe that the deserves it full heart sadly, yes there might be innocent people on death row but that should not mean that the death penalty should be abolished. I agree with Brennan on issues such as freedom of the press and abortion. I don’t think that the press should be censored or stopped in anyway, because in my own opinion the press is the only way that people find out about major news stories and scandals. I am also a strong pro-choice advocate and believe that abortion should be legalized throughout the country and remain that way. A woman should be allowed to get an abortion is she wants to and I don’t find it right for people to want to take that right

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442 Words | 2 Pages

An example of this is that Adams wanted to appoint john Jay, but he said no saying that the court lacked “energy, weight, and dignity to support the government,” (86). Not only was turnover for resigning was very high, but sometimes they didn’t assemble enough people so many cases were carried over or canceled. Even through all the struggles of being looked down upon, not enough people wanting to take part, and people trying to overturn him John Marshall stood victorious. He changed the perceived appearance of the judges, coagulated the court, and having the court speak at one. “Marshall participated in 42 of the 46 court cases, and in those he wrote the court’s opinion,” (86).

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As O’Brien analyzes this transition it can seem as though the modern Justices are just trying to put their work off on other people. However, this just merely scratches the surface of what’s actually going on. The growing importance of law clerks over time not only reflects the growth and expansion of the United States as a whole but also shifts in how our society functions. As a result, the Court has had to take on more responsibility, while also changing the way they approach their jobs. There is no doubt that the Supreme Court has become more institutionalized since its founding, due its growing caseload.

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Justice William Brennan and Attorney General Edwin Meese held different views on the interpretation of the Constitution when it came to ruling in a case. Brennan held the view that judicial review should be done constitutionally, but to keep human dignity in mind when ruling in a case. Brennan makes his opinion on the matter known saying, “The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights solemnly committed the United States to be a country where the dignity and rights of all persons were equal before all authority.” (Brennan). Unlike Brennan, Meese believed in sticking strictly to what the constitution stated for most matters.

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Alex Frost Values: Law & Society 9/23/2014 The Hollow Hope Introduction and Chapter 1 Gerald Rosenberg begins his book by posing the questions he will attempt to answer for the reader throughout the rest of the text: Under what conditions do courts produce political and social change? And how effective have the courts been in producing social change under such past decisions as Roe v. Wade and Brown v. Board of Education? He then works to define some of the principles and view points 'currently' held about the US Supreme court system.

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Despite his conviction, he continued to be a divisive figure, with some viewing him as a symbol of the darkest depths of human depravity, while others saw him as a victim of circumstances beyond his control. They had to address whether Leslie Irvin's escape from custody forfeited his right to appeal. Justices on the court prone to judicial restraint, such as Frankfurter, Harlan, Clark, and Whittaker, generally held reservations about federal courts issuing writs of habeas corpus in state prosecution cases. On the other hand, Brennan and Warren expressed concerns about jurors who had prejudged the outcome of Irvin's

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The Supreme Court came back with a decision six months later with a 5-4 decision. This meant that 5 judges were for the death penalty and 4 were against. Justices Douglass, Brennan, Stewart, White and Marshal all concurred that executing Furman was wrong. Justices Burger, Blackmun, Powell, and Rehnquist all voted that the execution was the correct action to take against Furman. The court’s decision was that giving Furman the death penalty was cruel and unusual and in clear violation of the constitution.

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The Supreme Court did not share Lincoln’s opinion. Especially, the Chief Justice Roger Taney who, in his role as the federal circuit judge, ruled that Lincoln’s suspension of Habeas Corpus was unconstitutional in a decision called Ex Parte Merryman. He did so after his recommendation for a trial of Merryman in order to determine if there were any legitimate reasons for his arrest met if refusal form Merryman captors. In the end, The President ignored Taney ruling, and Congress never contested Lincoln’s Habeas Corpus decision. Lincoln also met with strong resistance form the general public in regards to his executive order.

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What is actually happening is allowing Supreme Court justices to serve for life. An article stated that “by making new appointments less frequent, longer tenure has diminished the abilities of presidents and senators to provide the only form of democratic accountability that is consistent with judicial independence,” (Jr., Stuart Taylor. ). William Douglas, who has set record for Supreme Court tenure (almost 37 years) who has cast the deciding vote, along with Hugo Black who retired at the age of 85 and Thurgood Marshall who retired at the age of 83. “ I’m getting old and falling apart,” Marshall said on his last day (Jr., Stuart Taylor. ). That’s why it is better to bring fresh perspectives, and especially those people who understand the

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Finally, in 1967, President Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court. In a mostly conservative Supreme Court, Marshall was an outspoken liberal. During his twenty-four-year tenure, Marshall voted to uphold gender and racial affirmative action policies in every case that involved these policies being contested. In every case in which the Supreme Court voted to not overturn a death sentence, Marshall dissented. Before Marshall’s appointment into the United States Supreme Court, no justice has been so adamant to uphold human rights.

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Scalia was a judge that was secure in his opinions. He has an interesting opinion on how to interpret the constitution. The way he expresses his ideas sometimes are undermining to the ideas of others. His love for arguing seems to make him interesting but overbearing. Scalia has changed and strengthened the views of others by using his voice.

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Although the current state of the court is not Hamilton’s blueprint design, Marshall’s opinion in the Marbury case has performed Hamilton’s main desire; the

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This violated the equal protection of laws and ruins individuality where government cannot be involved in their private affairs. In modern history, people have the right to decide whether they should have abortion or not; however, some presidential candidate (Trump) or most people across the United States are arguably against abortion. Roe v. Wade impacted the point of views of the Supreme Court today. For example, the Supreme Court strikes down Texas abortion restriction to give everyone the freedom to have an abortion. The Casey decision in 1992 limits the right established in Roe, allowing states to regulate abortion in ways Roe had barred.

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The reason why the court did this because the justice believes the state does have a reasonable reason for enforcing the law of rejecting abortion. It was a way to protect the health of the mother and the life of the baby. Even though it does not have an effect in the beginning; however, it gradually worsens as the baby grows older. D. Would the constitution accept women to have an abortion?

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On appeal, the Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, finding that the victim impact statement serves an important interest by informing the sentence of the full measure of harm caused by the crime. Booth again appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where the lower court's sentencing, but not the conviction, was vacated and remanded back for further proceedings. In presenting arguments before the Supreme Court, the chief attorney for Booth argued that when making a decision about the death penalty, juries should only consider two criteria: the defendant's background and the circumstances of the

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Courts prove unsuccessful in achieving social change due to the constraints on the court’s power. Rosenburg’s assessment that courts are “an institution that is structurally challenged” demonstrates the Constrained Court view. In this view, the Court’s lack of judicial independence, inability to implement policies, and the limited nature of constitutional rights inhibit courts from producing real social reform. For activists to bring a claim to court, they must frame their goal as a right guaranteed by the constitution, leading to the courts hearing less cases (Rosenburg 11). The nature of the three branches also creates a system of checks and balances in which Congress or the executive branch can reverse a controversial decision, rendering the Court’s impact void.

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