USA: US Supreme Court and civil rights Key terms Edexcel Politics A-level USA: US Supreme Court and civil rights Key terms

Conservative justice A justice with a strong belief in stare decisis, with a more narrow view of the Constitution, more likely to believe in a literal interpretation of the wording and believing in a generally smaller government.

Imperial judiciary A judiciary which is all powerful and on whom checks and balances are weak and ineffective.

Judicial activism An approach to judicial decision making that holds that a Justice should use their position to promote desirable social ends.

Judicial restraint An approach to judicial decision making that holds that a Justice should defer to the executive and legislative branches, which are politically accountable to the people, and should put great stress on the principle established in previous court decisions.

Judicial review The ability of the Supreme Court to declare acts of Congress, and acts or actions of the presidency, unconstitutional and therefore null and void.

Liberal Justice A Justice who interprets the Constitution more broadly in order to give the people more freedom and bring about social change.

Living Constitution The idea that the Constitution is an evolutionary document that can change over time through re-interpretation by the Supreme Court (linked to loose constructionism).

Originalism The idea that the meaning of the US Constitution is fixed and should not be subject to interpretation.

Public policy Legislation and judicial decisions made on any policy that affect the whole of the US population.

Stare decisis This doctrine is built on the idea of standing by decided cases, upholding precedents and maintaining former adjudications – thus tends to favour status quo – this is the opposite of the ‘living Constitution’ approach.

Strict / loose constructionist ‘Loose construction’ is a legal philosophy that favours a broad interpretation of a document's language. This term is often used to contrast with strict construction, a philosophy that favours looking solely at the written text of the law.

Swing Justice This is an informal name for the Justice on the Supreme Court who falls ideologically in the centre of the nine current Justices.

Constitutional rights The rights specifically outlined for citizens within the US Constitution, Bill of Rights and subsequent Amendments.

Racial equality Racial equality is an equal regard to all races. It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races and to social equality for people of different races. In the USA, there remain calls for desegregation and voter registration in the south, and better jobs, housing and school integration in the north.

Affirmative action A policy of favouring historically disadvantaged members of a community.

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