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Supreme Court Law Pros And Cons

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INTRODUCTION
Given what I have learned about the functions and characteristics of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Conseil Constitutionnel of France – in the context of their respective systems of civil, criminal, administrative and constitutional adjudication – I will discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of each system in offering meaningful remedies for possible violations of constitutionally protected individual rights from the frame of reference of a United States law student. As a Founding Father, I plan to adopt a body of law founded upon the strengths of both bodies of law. In doing so, I will consider, in order, what characteristics of each body of law is best suited to rule on issues of constitutionality, taking …show more content…

In the United States, a Supreme Court decision is binding on all lower federal courts. State courts are only subject to follow a Supreme Court decision when it decides an issue of federal law, such as fundamental individual rights. Thus, one can say that Supreme Court decisions serve as de jure precedent for these courts. However, because no state can guarantee less protection than that granted by the Constitution of the United States, Supreme Court decisions also serve as de facto precedent by guiding the state legislature in drafting legislation in accordance with the Federal Constitution. Also, state court judges may use Supreme Court decisions are persuasive precedent in order to avoid getting overturned; this is part of the fear I was previously referring to, and it is a reason why it is so important that the institution reviewing constitutional issues be part of the judiciary hierarchy. Parties may not appeal the Supreme Court’s decisions; only the Supreme Court can overturn its own decisions. As previously mentioned, when the Court denies a party’s petition for writ of certiorari, the lower court’s decision is

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When people think of how government works, unless they’ve taken a government class, they usually think of Congress making laws and the President doing pretty much everything else. No one pays much attention to the Supreme Court unless there is a landmark case or something else to grab the news — like the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia. But the Supreme Court does much more than you’d think regarding keeping the political machine running like a well-oiled … machine. Through not only interpretation of the law, but also judicial activism, the Supreme Court shows it can have as much influence over the laws of the land as either of the other branches of the federal government. In this paper, I will analyze the decision-making methods of the Court using the cases of Gideon v. Wainwright and Betts v. Brady.

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First, it does not always reflect the will of the people. Since it is the people who elect the Congress and the President, I believe their will should prevail. The Supreme Court should obey the will of the people rather than relying on interpretation of the constitution. Also, Judicial Review may cause a president or Congress to delay some activity or law until they get an opinion from legal advisers as to the constitutionality of the action or law, (Clinton, 1989). This might affect solving some essential matters of urgency lest the Supreme Court rules against it

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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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The book includes numerous special features that enables reader to have a more in-depth idea of the Constitutional

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To begin with, in the judicial system, there is an ongoing dispute over what compromises the proper amount of judicial power. This lack of agreement concerning policymaking power of the Courts is bestowed within the discussion between judicial activism and judicial restraint. In general, these two philosophies represent the conflicting approaches taken by judges in their task of interpretation. Consequently, the Court’s decision could be framed in terms of activism or restraint by either changing or upholding public policy.

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933 Words | 4 Pages

Woodrow Wilson once referred to the Supreme Court as “a constant constitutional convention in continuous session”, due to the role they have played in interpreting the constitution as it is written. Due to the ambiguity found in much of the phrasing in the constitution, judicial interpretation of the constitution can be considered both necessary and inevitable (Comer, Gruhl et al., 2001). The courts have the power to declare unconstitutional the actions of the other branches and units of the government in what is known as judicial review (Tannahil, 2002). The first case in which the court elaborated on the principle of judicial review was that of Marbury v. Madison in 1803 and put forward that in the case of conflict between the constitution and a statute, it is “the duty of the judicial department to say what the law is” (Smith, 1975). Following this, the case of Fletcher v Peck (1810) is of equal importance as it was the first case in which a state law was declared by the court to be unconstitutional.

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167 Words | 1 Pages

The quality of judges would without a doubt increase if they were appointed. However, I do not agree with the idea of judges being appointed. When looking at the partisan aspect you notice several possible issues with one issue being, is that individual the right person to do the job. Partisan election of judges allows for an individual that may not be as qualified for the job to be elected into the position. Nevertheless the partisan election of judges gives the voters what they want based on party affiliation along with qualifications.

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Samad Quraishi Mr. Mesa US/VA Government Honors 11 January 2023 Prompt: Is "court-packing" an appropriate response to criticisms directed at the United States Supreme Court? Packing the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is a bad idea. SCOTUS has been the highest court of the land throughout our country's history. They have the power to determine whether a law is Constitutional or not, yet in recent years the court has become overwhelmingly conservative and politicized.

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260 Words | 2 Pages

Taking a significant step away from the Framers’ vision of the judiciary and stepping closer toward a politicized Supreme Court that acts as a super-legislature and super-regulator; Massachusetts v EPA, in a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court stepping closer toward a politicized Supreme Court that acts as a super-legislature and super-regulator (p. 176, Rosenbloom, 2015, Vicara, 2017). In this decision, the Court substituted its judgment for that of the politically accountable branches of the federal government. In doing so, the Court undermined the legal rules of standing. The majority also supported its decision with a one-sided and unsophisticated account of the scientific evidence for the petitioners’ claims concerning climate change, needlessly

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After experiencing that the Articles of Confederation granted too little power to the federal government, the Founders decided to replace it with the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution was created to protect citizen’s rights and provide more power to central government. However, the Founders did not want the government to hold too much power, they created three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial branch so that one branch could limit the power of the others. This is also called checks and balances. Each branch carries different tasks but still works together towards the same common goals to ensure that the U.S. is developed and thrived.

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The Supreme Court priorities from the time period of 1790 to 1865 were establishing the Judiciary Act of 1789, which was instrumental in founding the Federal Court System. The framers believed that establishing a National Judiciary was an urgent and important task. After the installation of Chief Justice John Marshall who “used his dominance to strengthen the court 's position and advance the policies he favored” (Baum 20). However, in the decision of the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803 was an example of the power he exuded “in which the Court struck down a Federal statute for the first time” (Baum 20). This created some internal conflict between Marshall and President Thomas Jefferson, however Marshall was able to diffuse this with

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429 Words | 2 Pages

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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644 Words | 3 Pages

The Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics video titled “Key Constitutional Concepts” explores the history of the creation of the United States Constitution in addition to key concepts crucial to the document. Two central themes explored in the video include the protection of personal rights and importance of checks and balances. The video strives to explain these concepts through Supreme Court cases Gideon v. Wainwright and Youngstown v. Sawyer. To begin, the video retraces the steps leading up to the Constitutional Convention in Virginia in 1787. It opens by explaining the conflict that led to the Revolutionary War and the fragility of the new nation.

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801 Words | 4 Pages

Judicial selection is an intriguing topic as there are multiple ways that judges take their seat on the bench. The United States Constitution spells out how federal judges are selected and leaves it up to the individual states to establish their means for selecting judges. In federal courts, judges are appointed and it varies between appointment and election for state courts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences between appointments and elections (as well as the multiple types of elections) and to give an opinion as to which is the better alternative. Federal judges are appointed by the President of the United States and are confirmed on the advice and consent of the United States Senate.

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Specialized Courts Specialized courts are commonly known as the problem-solving courts that promote positive reinforcement, support behavior modification, decrease victimization, and reduce recidivism. Examples of specialized courts include drug court and mental health courts. A community might benefit from establishing a specialized court such as a drug court because it follows a comprehensive model that concentrates on reducing criminal actions through treatment and rehabilitation services with the focus being on substance abuse addiction and identifying the cause without jeopardizing public safety and due process (Specialized Courts, 2013).

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