...The Power of the Supreme Court Cannot be Justified in a Democracy (45) The US Supreme Court has a number of powers. These include the power to declare acts of Congress, the executive or state legislatures unconstitutional through the power of judicial review. The supreme court justices are also given the power to interpret the constitution when making decisions, again, through their power of judicial review. It is arguable that it is essential for the supreme court to have such powers in order to allow the American democracy to flourish. However, there is much evidence to suggest that the supreme court holds too much power for an unelected body, thus hindering democracy. The ambiguity of the constitution means that there is much room for interpretation. Since interpreting the constitution is the role of the supreme court, the supreme court is often seen as a quasi legislative body. This is because through its interpretations, particularly those made by loose contructionists, the supreme court acts as an additional legislature. It's decisions can have the same effect as passing legislation. For example, the Grutter vs Bollinger decision (2008) involved the courts laying down a time frame for which affirmative action can be deemed necessary. This effectively acted as a piece of legislation even though it did not pass through Congress. This can be seen as being problematic and potentially damaging for a Democracy. Justices are unelected, they therefore lack legitimacy and should...
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...The Supreme Court and Judicial Review Should the Supreme Court's power of judicial review be strictly limited by a constitutional amendment? Yes, the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review should be strictly limited to the constitution; because their judicial power is in all cases, in law and equity, arising under the constitution. Meaning they are over stepping their initial jurisdiction and have been given the power to have judicial reviews, even though it’s unconstitutional. The only power the Supreme Court is supposed to have is; all cases affecting ambassadors, or the public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party in the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction as stated in article III section 2 of the constitution. The Supreme Court is supposed to be the weakest of the three branches of government. The legislative, and executive branches are supposed to control the judiciary branch, even the states are supposed to have more say than the court. But they have been made more powerful and they are telling the legislative and executive branches what to do. There is no such system of checks and balances any more that protect the states and people when most government branches, are acting in cohorts with one another, eroding and destroying the rights and powers of the states and we the people. Even if the system was working right; who is watching and how will they stop the court from being unconstitutional? Every time the court holds judicial...
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...looking to situations in the past. Inductive. Laws because they have always been laws. Equity law: decisions of chancery court were made on the basis of fairness. Equity law begins where common law stops. Laws designed to address justice without criminal intent. (fairness) Administrative law: Rules that govern industry. Ex. FCC Statutory law: Created by government rep. Written law formally enacted by city, county, state and federal legislative bodies. Executive orders- orders from executive branch Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Freedom of speech, press, religion, petition, assembly Laws establish boundaries and allow for punishment of violators, they limit government power, and establish fundamental rights/liberties. They carry sanctions. Policy is adopted to achieve a social goal,they lack sanctions. Laws are passed in the U.S. to support policy. FCC- Federal Communication Commission is an IRA. Directed by five commissioners appointed by the President/confirmed by the senate for 5 year terms creates laws, administers law, establishes policy Congress creates FCC A party would appeal an FCC ruling at the Federal Court of appeals for District of Columbia. 6. Jurisdiction- States District of Columbia Federal Military U.S...
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...George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, and Harry Truman. None of these other Presidents exceeded Lincoln in any category according to the rate scale. Roosevelt fell into second place because he did not measure up to Lincoln in character. Washington, close behind, ranked third because of his lesser political skills. It is the general opinion of pollsters, moreover, that the average American would probably put Lincoln at the top as well. In other words, the judgment of historians and the public tells us that Abraham Lincoln was the nation's greatest President by every measure applied. Interestingly, had the average Union citizen been asked the same question in the spring of 1863, there can be no doubt but that Lincoln would have fared poorly. Not much more could have been said for him even a year later, when Lincoln thought that he would lose his bid for reelection. It would take Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse and his own death a week later to propel Lincoln into the pantheon of presidential greatness. And Lincoln's canonization began almost immediately. Within days of his death, his life was being compared to Jesus Christ. Lincoln was portrayed to a worshipping public as a self-made man, the liberator of the slaves, and the savior of the Union who had given his life so that others could be free. President Lincoln became Father Abraham, a near mythological hero, "lawgiver" to African Americans, and a "Masterpiece...
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...Roosevelt, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, and Harry Truman. None of these other Presidents exceeded Lincoln in any category according to the rate scale. Roosevelt fell into second place because he did not measure up to Lincoln in character. Washington, close behind, ranked third because of his lesser political skills. It is the general opinion of pollsters, moreover, that the average American would probably put Lincoln at the top as well. In other words, the judgment of historians and the public tells us that Abraham Lincoln was the nation's greatest President by every measure applied. Interestingly, had the average Union citizen been asked the same question in the spring of 1863, there can be no doubt but that Lincoln would have fared poorly. Not much more could have been said for him even a year later, when Lincoln thought that he would lose his bid for reelection. It would take Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse and his own death a week later to propel Lincoln into the pantheon of presidential greatness. And Lincoln's canonization began almost immediately. Within days of his death, his life was being compared to Jesus Christ. Lincoln was portrayed to a worshipping public as a self-made man, the liberator of the slaves, and the savior of the Union who had given his life so that others could be free. President Lincoln became Father Abraham, a near mythological hero, "lawgiver" to African Americans, and a "Masterpiece...
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...Assess the significance of Federalism. The founding fathers had to make a compromise that would satisfy the 13 independent colonies, meanwhile providing a secure central base. This resulted in The United States government adopting federalism. Even though federalism isn’t mentioned in the constitution, the principles of federalism are mentioned in various articles. For example article 1 section 8 displays the power available to congress. It contains the ‘elastic clause’ that potentially gives the federal government so much power over the states. And the amendments provide a list of ‘can’t do’s’ for the states. For example states can’t enter into treaties with foreign powers. As the aspects of federalism is displayed in the codified constitution, signifies the importance for the US to collectively follow this system. However, Federalism is a method of government that also allows the states to maintain their sovereignty, without the fear of intervention of the central government, unless they violate or clash with the constitution. This is evident as each state has its own constitution and its own executive, legislature and judiciary all working within the limits set by the national constitution; executive; legislature and judiciary. An example of a state constitution that has relevant articles to its needs is Idaho. For instance in their constitutions article 16, section 1 the constitution talks of the need for the Idaho legislature to pass laws that protect livestock from disease...
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...The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) while recommending the constitution of Lokpal was convinced that such an institution was justified not only for removing the sense of injustice from the minds of adversely affected citizens but also necessary to instill public confidence in the efficiency of the administrative machinery. Following this, the Lokpal Bill was for the first time presented during the fourth Lok Sabha in 1968, and was passed there in 1969. However, while it was pending in the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha was dissolved, and so the bill was not passed at that time. (b) The bill was revived in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2008 most recently in 2011. Each time, after the bill was introduced to the house, it was referred to some committee for improvements a joint committee of parliament, or a departmental standing committee of the Home Ministry, and before the government could take a final stand on the issue, the house was dissolved. Several flaws have been cited in the recent draft of the Lokpal Bill. Meanwhile the activists of India Against Corruption (IAC) have prepared a draft for the bill called Jan Lokpal Bill. 2. Composition of Lokpal. The Lokpal will be a three member body with a chairperson who is or was a chief justice or Supreme Court judge, and two members who are or have been high courts judges or chief justices. The basic framework of the Lokpal is borrowed from the office of the ombudsman in other countries. It provides...
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...look at Supreme Court gun law cases, rulings, and the current abuse of executive privilege under the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment to the Constitution is the right to keep and bear arms by every law abiding citizen in the United States. In this dialog, we will look at the aforementioned Supreme Court cases to better understand the limitations of the Central Governments ability to interfere with this individual right. In the case of the District of Columbia vs. Heller, the primary issue in this case was the complete ban of handguns in homes within the District of Columbia unless they are unserviceable. This case was brought by Dick Heller in an action claiming that a complete ban violates the 2nd Amendment right guaranteed to the citizens of this country. In the case of Lopez vs. the United States, Congress attempted to control where individuals could carry weapons through the invalid use and exercise of the commerce clause power. At first look into the District of Columbia vs. Heller case, the power to solicit and control gun regulation belongs to the States, not the Federal Government. The District of Columbia is not a state and therefore does not possess the authority to install gun regulations on the citizenry living there as they are residents of Maryland and Virginia and are so governed by the gun laws which exist in those states depending on which state they are located in. The Supreme Court stated...
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...Poland. 26 The tradition of civil disobedience in America goes all the way back to the founders. 26 Civil disobedience can serve to prevent situations from escalating into violence. 27 Civil Disobedience has been used to promote peace. 27 Civil disobedience was used to promote racial equality. 27 Civil disobedience is used to try to prevent the destruction of the environment. 27 Civil disobedience is effective at changing the law. 28 Legal channels can take too long. 28 Consent to obey just laws does not imply consent to obey unjust ones. 28 Distinguishing between just and unjust laws to disobey can be universalized. 28 Civil disobedience can be stabilizing to a community by spreading a shared sense of justice. 29 Sometimes it is only the unjustified response to civil disobedience that has harmful consequence. 29 Civil disobedience is traditionally non-violent. 29 Civil disobedience is a form of exercising free speech- which is essential in a democracy. 30 Civil disobedience has been used to fight slave laws 30 Civil disobedience played a role in ending the Vietnam war. 30 Civil disobedience shouldn’t be punished- but recognized as enhancing democracy. 31 Even if laws are created by democratic means- civil disobedience can still be justified. 31 Civil disobedience is justified because it promotes equal marriage laws. 31 Civil disobedience is a integral part of American history. 32 Civil disobedience...
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...Unethical practices of a society can not be blamed on the individual’s within that corrupt society, but instead the leadership that guides their blind thinking. This concept of the corrupt elite influencing the society below them can be seen throughout the history of America. One such example of this in America is the idea of African American oppression. The Framers themselves failed to address the issue of slavery, so the African American community had to endure intense oppression until the Civil Rights movements. However, at every turn the American leadership in power either pushed the public to see the heinous acts as justified or enacted laws to create a further inability to escape the oppression. As a result, the initial creation of the...
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...effectively constrained w/o a written constitution (e.g. Britain) * Constitutionalism often (does not mean it necessarily equals to) associated specifically with liberalism, protection of individual rights against the state. * => constitutional state identified not by possession of a constitution but by its effective protection of individual rights. * (but individual rights only one set of fundamental principles that might impose meaningful limits on power of the state) * Constitutionalism also used to constrain power holders to care for the common weal or adhere to particular conceptions of national identity or religious law * 3-fold classification of province of constitutionalism * Normative Constitutionalism (most touched-on area) * Concerned with problem of how to reconcile constitutionalism and democracy * Asks questions like how best to legitimize practice of judicial review, how constitutional texts to be interpreted, what’s the best conception of democracy, what set of constitutional rights most worthy of recognition: interpretation, content, structure * Conceptual Constitutionalism * Concerned with what...
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...Potter American Government June 2, 2009 Mr. Potter PART 1 - HABEAS CORPUS RESEARCH PAPER “By this action we should call him King Lincoln I.” - Anti-war Democrats, 1863 INTRODUCTION English in origin, the concept of habeas corpus literally means “that you have the body,” meaning that the court can force the police to produce a prisoner before them for review of their case. While complex in its use, a writ of habeas corpus forms the foundation for the rights of the accused since it allows one branch of the government (the courts) to check and balance the actions of another (the police) in criminal proceedings. And yet, while habeas corpus has been maintained as a fundamental right of the imprisoned, this protection has been tampered with in our history, making habeas corpus sometimes a casualty of our desire for security during times of crisis. Constitutional Principles Several constitutional principal are expressed through habeas corpus, the foremost being checks and balances and that the accused are afforded due process. The framers of the Constitution knew that governments become abusive of the rights of citizens when there is no power to check that abuse and when the treatment of the accused is arbitrary. The use of habeas corpus is in fact one of the few constitutional rights enshrined in the main body of the Constitution instead of the amendments, and is established in each state constitution as well. Article I, Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution...
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...antidiscrimination law, quotas are regarded as discrimination. If a civil rights initiative can be portrayed as encouraging employers to adopt quotas, its political demise is nearly certain in the United States.[3] Narrow forms of affirmative action have survived, legally and politically, only to the extent that they can be distinguished from quotas. Quotas are so widely regarded as legally, politically, and morally repugnant that they are taboo: The “q-word”[4] is rarely the subject of any serious debate, even by those who favor stronger civil rights protections for women and minorities. The related belief in the illegitimacy of ever pursuing numerically informed demographic balance – especially along lines of race or gender -- is gaining strength in the Supreme Court’s major antidiscrimination cases in the last several years.[5] It is widely accepted – even by civil rights advocates – that pursuing racial or gender balance as a goal, “for its own sake,” would be illegitimate.[6] This principle threatens the constitutionality of race-based affirmative action, which may meet its demise in Fisher v. Texas next Term. Meanwhile, in Europe, quotas have made a definitive comeback, as a way of pursuing gender equality. Legislative and constitutional transformations over the last few years have led to the adoption of various policies requiring gender parity quotas in positions of political and economic power. Gender balance is regarded not only as a justifiable and legitimate goal, but...
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...Government June 2, 2009 Mr. Potter PART 1 - HABEAS CORPUS RESEARCH PAPER “By this action we should call him King Lincoln I.” - Anti-war Democrats, 1863 INTRODUCTION English in origin, the concept of habeas corpus literally means “that you have the body,” meaning that the court can force the police to produce a prisoner before them for review of their case. While complex in its use, a writ of habeas corpus forms the foundation for the rights of the accused since it allows one branch of the government (the courts) to check and balance the actions of another (the police) in criminal proceedings. And yet, while habeas corpus has been maintained as a fundamental right of the imprisoned, this protection has been tampered with in our history, making habeas corpus sometimes a casualty of our desire for security during times of crisis. Constitutional Principles Several constitutional principal are expressed through habeas corpus, the foremost being checks and balances and that the accused are afforded due process. The framers of the Constitution knew that governments become abusive of the rights of citizens when there is no power to check that abuse and when the treatment of the accused is arbitrary. The use of habeas corpus is in fact one of the few constitutional rights enshrined in the main body of the Constitution instead of the amendments, and is established in each state constitution as well. Article I, Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution...
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...rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” Reflecting on his 1860 presidential election win, Lincoln once made the distinction between the fundamental wrongdoing of violating the Constitution in the name of justice and violating those who sought to manipulate it. By illustrating the need for discerning whether Constitutional powers are being abused or not, Lincoln underscored one of the many reasons for needing a system of checks and balances that is also enforced by the people, both in his time, and ours today. From the top of the political hierarchy to the bottom, all officials...
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