JUDICIAL BRANCH

in the 3rd article of the Constitution there is no set number of Justices

Congress. 9 Justices and it’s the president who appoints them

According to the Constitution the president appoints them with the advice and consent of the Senate. There is a hearing before the Senate and then a vote

they are appointed for life and so have a long-lasting influence. They have 3 ways out:

• death

• resignation

  • impeachment

1, 3 and 2

they can’t be pressured by a new election and they are free from financial and public pressure

a Justice with liberal views. A Justice with conservative views

conflict resolution but not all conflicts

• Original jurisdiction

• Appellate jurisdiction

cases affecting ambassadors +cases w/ an individual state as a party (typically disputes between 2 states) and cases involving citizens from different States

agrees to review and revise a decision made by a lower court when the question litigated rests on a matter of interpretation of the Constitution

The Supreme Court is the final arbiter on the meaning of the Constitution

The Court agrees to hear a case. Then they debate, vote and there is a writing of the opinion (roughly 25 pages document with the explanation of the majority opinion and minority opinion)

• the living constitution approach

• the original intent approach

the Founding Fathers kept the Constitution flexible so that it could adapt over time. Interpreting the Constitution in a way consistent with modern morals and current needs in society

(a.k.a. originalism): the Court should always try to determine what the F. Fathers were trying to achieve and respect their original intent.

• over executive branch : Judicial review + Chief Justice presides over trials of presidential impeachment

• over the legislative branch : Judicial review

• by the executive branch : appointed by the President + pardons for offences other than impeachment + no way for SC to enforce its decisions on its own

• by the legislative branch : no way for SC to enforce its decisions on its own + Senate confirms justices + impeachment + Creates/ suppresses lower courts + size of the Court +Constitutional amendment (to overturn)

1. Marbury v. Madison(1803)

2. Dred Scott versus Sandford (1857)

3. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

4. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

5. Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

6. Roe v. Wade (1974)

7. Bush v. Gore (2000)

8. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

9. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)

Judicial review principle established

A slave is not a citizen and thus cannot sue in court

Segregation (‘separate but equal doctrine’) is constitutional

Struck down segregation (overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision)

Miranda rights (Expanded the rights of criminal defendants, mandating police to tell arrested people of their rights

The right to privacy (14th amendment) extends to a woman’s decision to have an abortion14th amendmen

• Presidential election 1st results on Nov 8:

• Bush winner of Florida with a 1784 ballot difference

• After recount Nov 10: Bush winner with a 327 ballot difference in FL

• New recount launched

• Dec 12: SC settled the recount in votes, and argued it was in violation of the 14th amendment because it used different standards of counting in other counties.

Money is speech: regulating how much money a corporation can spend in political campaigns violates the 1st amendment and freedom of speech

JWHO, only abortion clinic in MS, suing the state to challenge restrictions. Reversed Roe v. Wade ◦ abortion not a constitutional right ◦ not deeply rooted in nation’s history ◦ states free to regulate access to abortion

Amy Coney Barett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan