Quiz #1 -- Feedback

The Assignment: “Think Like a Political Scientist” Chronicle the obstacles that must be overcome before a case or controversy somewhere in American society can result in an opinion of the United States Supreme Court. Give attention to the formal rules that govern this process. Give attention to the unofficial but important historical, social, political or economic circumstances that also influence this process. At each step, [comment on how this process allocates advantages and disadvantages.] Key obstacles underlined; comments in [square brackets]

Sample Answer Note: Even though you should strive to complete the assignment with as much precision as you can, essay assignments often allow for considerable latitude. What follows is AN EXAMPLE of a good answer, NOT THE definitive answer.

A Good Example To be capable of judicial resolution a human controversy must arise out of circumstances that confer jurisdiction on some court, [so advantages accrue to those whose disputes clearly arise within the USA–as opposed for example to Afghanistan or Gitmo.]

A Good Example The controversy must meet the rules of justiciability including: adverseness [hypothetical and collusive disputes will be disadvantaged], standing [those with an economic stake in the outcome will be advantaged; pro- development businesses, for example, are more likely to have standing than anti-development environmentalists] and ripeness [those who have exhausted administrative remedies will be advantaged].

A Good Example Justiciability (continued) It must not be a moot question. [disputes triggered by transient conditions like pregnancy or being a college student will be disadvantaged] It must not be a political question. [Unless your name is George W. Bush , the court is unlikely to take your case if the Constitution seems to vest discretionary power over your situation in Congress or the President.]

A Good Example Courts have original and/or appellate jurisdiction. The Supreme Court has both, but 99% of its cases are appellate coming from lower federal courts, and, where there is a substantial federal question, from state courts as well. [So unless you are a state, an ambassador or other public minister, you need to get your case into a lower court and raise a federal question. If your cause is extremely unpopular, Congress may exclude it from the Court’s appellate jurisdiction.]

A Good Example The modern court gets almost all its cases as petitions for certiorari with the result that the court has near total discretion in deciding what cases to hear. 8000 cases a year are urged on the court, but about 80 get the full treatment. The court staff and the justices law clerks do the bulk of the screening. The actual decision to hear a case is made according to the rule of four.

A Good Example [Judicial discretion enhances the prospects of cases that raise important constitutional issues and diminishes the importance of individual parties. The enormous selectively of the court in deciding cases works to the advantage of federal government and major interest groups which can themselves be selective in what cases they urge on the court. The solicitor general gets special treatment from the court, perhaps because his selectivity helps them deal with their workload.]

A Good Example After a case is accepted, briefs are submitted, and the case is argued orally. [The procedural complexity of the court's work advantages the legal elite which practices before the court frequently and disadvantages novices, including many state assistant attorney generals.]

A Good Example If you’ve gotten this far, your case will be discussed in conference and tentatively decided. [Clearly it makes a difference who’s on the court. The process of judicial selection produces courts that tend to favor the interests of the same political elites in society that have dominated presidential and congressional politics over the past 30 years. The differential status accorded to in forma pauperis petitions demonstrates a bias against the indigent, and the complexity and length of the process works to the advantage of litigants who have the resources to keep their cases alive by paying lawyers' fees for years.]

A Good Example The senior justice on the prevailing side assigns the opinion of the court, and the opinions are negotiated through drafts and memos among the majority coalition. [If your case is close, the views of the swing justice will determine your fate. If not, the senior justice in the majority and the justice writing for the court will have disproportionate influence on the opinion.] 589 words – somebody was going to ask

Legislative Powers of Congress Enumerated Powers Implied Powers Inherent Powers Amendment-Enforcing Powers Treaty Powers

Legislative Powers of States Reserved Powers Police Powers Health Safety Welfare Morals

McCULLOCH V. MARYLAND 17 U.S. 316 (1819)

Facts McCulloch, cashier of national bank branch office in Maryland, refused to pay state tax on all banknotes not issued by a state-chartered bank. Convicted and conviction upheld in Maryland courts.

Questions Do the Article I powers of Congress permit incorporation of a bank? [yes] Do the powers of sovereignty residing in the State of Maryland permit the state to tax such a bank? [no]

Judgment For McCulloch by vote of 7-0 Argument: by Marshall, joined by Washington, Johnson, Livingston, Todd, Duvall, & Story.

Argument: Question #1 The constitution derives its powers from the people, not the states. The national government is a government of enumerated powers, but it is supreme within its sphere of action. The power to establish a bank is not expressly delegated, but the 10th Amendment does not say powers must be "expressly delegated" to be reserved to the states. It leaves open whether a power has or has not been delegated. A government given great powers must be entrusted with "ample means," and a bank is a means most appropriate to the powers to lay taxes, regulate commerce, borrow money, etc. Though the creation a corporation is a sovereign power (like war power or tax power), a corporation is always a means and not an end in itself. Thus, the power to create a corporation is logically incidental to the great powers actually enumerated.

Argument: Question #1 revisited But we need not rely on general reasoning; this constitution is more specific… The necessary and Proper Clause is one of Congress's enumerated powers. "Necessary" is a matter of degree. Necessary "frequently imports no more than that one thing is convenient, or useful, or essential to another.” In fact the constitution actually says "absolutely necessary" in Article I, Section 10. "This provision is made in a constitution, intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs." It must not become a "splendid bauble.” "Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional."

Argument: Question #2 The power to tax is concurrently exercised by nation and states, but the federal constitution can limit the exercise of that power by the states as the prohibition on taxing imports and exports demonstrates. The constitution and its laws are supreme, and any action incompatible with them must be void. "That the power of taxing by the states may be exercised so as to destroy it [the bank], is too obvious to be denied.” "No principle not declared, can be admissible, which would defeat the legitimate operations of a supreme government.” "The power to tax involves the power to destroy...the power to destroy may defeat...the power to create.” Under the Supremacy Clause Maryland may not tax the national bank.

Dred Scot v. Sandford 19 Howard 393 (1857)

Citizenship Article I, §2: The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have . . . been seven years a citizen of the United States. Article I, §3: No person shall be a Senator who shall not have . . . been nine years a citizen of the United States. Article I, §8: The Congress shall have power to . . . establish a uniform rule of naturalization.

Citizenship Article II, §1:No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President. Article III, §2: The judicial power shall extend . . . to controversies . . . between a state and citizens of another state;--between citizens of different states;--between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. Article IV, §2: The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states

Black People Article I, §2: Representatives . . .shall be apportioned . . . according to their respective numbers [populations], which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. Article I, §9: The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight. Article IV, §2: No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.

Comparing the Court’s First Two Eras Marshall Court 1801-1835 Taney Court 1836-1863 Judicial Power Marbury v. Madison (1803) Luther v. Borden (1849) Legislative Power McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) Commerce Clause Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Cooley v. Board of Wardens (1852) Contract Clause Fletcher v. Peck (1810) & Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837)

The Civil War Amendments Constitutional Watershed in American Federalism

13th Amendment [1865] Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

14th Amendment, ¶§ 1 [1868] All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

15th Amendment [1870] Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

14th Amendment, ¶§ 1 [1868] All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.