1. And the protection of rights and liberties. THE SUPREME COURT

2.  Nine members – one chief and 8 associates.  Appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.  Current chief justice – John Roberts.  Predecessors;  Rehnquist – 1986-2005  Burger – 1969-86  Warren – 1953-69  Hold the office for life ‘during good behaviour’. MEMBERSHIP OF THE COURT

3.  Strict constructionist:  Interpretation of the constitution in a strict, literal or conservative fashion. Stresses the retention of as much power as possible by the govts of the individual states.  Look at the original intent of the founding fathers. Focus on the text. Apply rules from the words chosen by the FF.  Usually appointed by Republicans.  Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito.  Scalia “The constitution I interpret is not living but dead” Responsibility not to make sense of the law but “follow the text of the law”.  The constitution is not meant to facilitate change but impede it – you want a new right (say to abortion?) well create a law that grants that right, like most rights are established. PHILOSOPHY: STRICT CONSTRUCTIONIST

4.  Loose constructionist:  Loose or liberal interpretation of the constitution, tends to stress the broad grants of power to the federal govt.  Read elements into the constitution that they believe the FF would approve.  Ginsburg and Breyer, and Stevens and Souter (although appointed by a Republican).  Look at the context of the constitution.  Bush didn’t realise when he appointed Souter that he would be appointing one of the most liberal members of the court. PHILOSOPHY: LOOSE CONSTRUCTIONIST

5. ClassificationIdeologyCharacteristicsPartyExamples Strict Constructionist ConservativeStrict/literal interpretation of the constitution in favour of states rights RepublicanRoberts Scalia Thomas Alito Loose Constructionist LiberalReads things into the constitution, favour federal govt power. DemocratGinsburg Breyer Sotomayor Kagan CLASSIFICATION OF SUPREME COURT JUSITCES

6.  Activist court = one that leads the way in the reform of American society.  Warren court – Brown Vs Board of Ed (1954).  Pivotal in Civil Rights movt.  Burger court – Row Vs Wade (1973)  Right to have an abortion = constitutionally protected right.  Judicial activism views the court as an equal partner to the legislature and executive – therefore no need to be deferential.  Activist judges not inclined to be deferential to the other branches of govt.  I’m in charge and will seek to be a player equal to the other branches in shaping policy. PHILOSOPHY: JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

7.  Inclined to accept what has gone before and leave things as they are.  Associated with strict constructionist.  Places emphasis on stare decisis – to stand by that which is decided.  Once a precedent has been decided in a case it must be adhered to.  Since the Roe Vs Wade decision on abortion the court has been seen to put limits on that right but not overturn it.  Seen as deferential to the executive and legislature as they are accountable to the electorate.  Less likely to declare acts of Congress or the Executive as unconstitutional. PHILOSOPHY: JUDICIAL RESTRAINT

8.  Federal appeals court (Sotomayor).  State courts (O’Connor)  Executive branch (Kagan).  Academia (Kagan).  Eight current members have previously sat on federal appeal courts.  Kagan was previously Solicitor general to the Justice dept and Dean of Harvard Law School.  Senate has rejected 12 SC nominations since 1789: Recent being Bork in 1987. POOLS OF RECRUITMENT FOR JUSTICES

9.  1803: Marbury V Madison = first time the Supreme Court has declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.  Enables the Supreme Court the power to update the words of the constitution.  Can decide what the phrase ‘cruel and unusual punishments’ can mean today.  Does ‘freedom of speech’ apply to the internet?  Chief justice Charles Evans Hughes:  “The constitution is what the judges say it is”. JUDICIAL REVIEW

10.  Bill of rights was added to the constitution to allay the fear that the executive had been given too much power over states and individuals.  14 th amendment in 1868 = constitution begins to explicitly restrict the actions that states could take against individuals.  Preventing states from depriving individuals of life, liberty, or property without Due Process of law  What can due process mean?  Substantive: Substance of the law be administered carefully and reasonably.  Procedural: The process of the law must be fair. JUDICIAL REVIEW: CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS

11.  Makes decisions concerning areas that politicians disagree fundamentally (Abortion, gun control – Presidential and congressional elections).  Power of judicial review has been used to involve its self in a range of political issues:  Civil rights and civil liberties.  Members of the court are appointed by politicians (President and then confirmed by Senators).  Appointments to the court can become issues in presidential elections (as in 2000).  Deemed the manual recount issued by Florida Supreme Court to be unconstitutional because of a breech of equal protection clause and was therefore apparently handing the presidency over to Bush. POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COURT

12.  Freedom of religion:  Lee v. Weisman 1992 – Declared prayer at state school graduation unconstitutional (Separation of religion and education).  Freedom of speech:  Cit United v. Election Com 2010 – Declared corporations to have the same rights as individuals (financial contributions to campaigns) over turning key elements in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform act.  Right to bear arms:  United state v. Lopez 1995 – Unconstitutional 1990 Gun-free school zones act, Congress had exceeded its power – implications for scope of federal power over state juristictions. POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE: POLICY AREAS

13.  Racial rights:  Brown v. Board of Ed 1954 – Declared segregation in schools unconstitutional – Led to widespread desegregation of schools.  Grratz v. Bollinger 2003 – Uni of Michigan affirmative action under grad admissions = unconstitutional because too mechanistic.  Abortion rights:  Roe v. Wade 1973 – Unconstitutional to prevent a woman having an abortion – infringes liberty which includes personal choice in matters of family planning.  Gonzales v. Carhart 2007 – Upheld partial-birth abortion ban act, first time a specific abortion procedure could be banned that had no consideration for woman's health unless life threatened. POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE: POLICY AREAS

14.  Checks by Congress:  Senate confirms all appointments.  Power to impeach by Congress.  Congress can initiate constitutional amendments to effectively overturn Court rulings:  Recent although unsuccessful examples: flag desecration, abortion, prayers in state schools.  Accountability of the court – can get this from the fact that senators confirm appointments and constant threat of impeachment that hangs over the court justices. DOES THE SUPREME COURT HAVE TOO MUCH POWER?

15.  Checks by the president:  Nomination of justices.  Can either throw weight behind court or openly criticise it.  Power to pardon.  Other checks:  No enforcement powers (Brown v Board – only implemented by Eisenhower sending in troops to Little Rock in 1957).  Has to wait for a case to come before it – cannot review legislation on a hypothetical basis.  Some parts of the constitution are unambiguous.  Can check itself by reviewing old decisions (However precedence limits this). DOES THE SUPREME COURT HAVE TOO MUCH POWER?