Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
analyze the american federal court system
impact of supreme court on civil rights
analyze the american federal court system
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: analyze the american federal court system
Judicial Tyranny: The New Kings of America? Is a conglomeration of articles and short essays that attempts to expose the federal court’s relatively recent intrusion into our way of life by way of immoral legislative influence; made possible by presidents, congressmen, and apathetic voters who have relinquished their consent without contest. The author, Mark I. Sutherland and his associates believe that the Constitution’s system of checks and balances between the three branches of government has been usurped by an overreaching, immoral federal court system. The book explores how Judges have been influencing and shaping social and political policy for years by legislating from the judicial bench. In short, Americans have exchanged the rule of law for the rule by the judges. However, it does a poor job in addressing other major issues concerning the federal court system as a whole. 2 “We live in the greatest nation on Planet Earth, but it is becoming more and more apparent that in order to keep it, the people must do something to stop the federal courts that are daily setting themselves above the law and dictating to us how we should live, and what we should think” (Sutherland M. et al p. 9, 2007) Those are the beginning words of the preface to the book Judicial Tyranny: The New Kings of America. The work expounds upon the idea that there is something fundamentally wrong with our country’s judicial system, especially when it comes to the Supreme Court. The main idea behind the book is that an unelected judicial branch has taken upon itself new powers and is legislating from the court bench without regard to the general consent of the people and our Constitutional process. The entire book comes from very Christian world vi... ... middle of paper ... ...deral judiciary by assuming that his interpretation of the Constitution is unequivocally true. Admittedly, he does a remarkable job at supporting his case, but again he assumes that everyone is of the same mindset. Judicial Tyranny was a very thought-provoking read and even though the reader may agree with Mr. Sutherland’s view point, a rational thinker must admit that he and his colleagues do the very same thing they accuse the federal courts are doing - forcing their beliefs and opinions (court rulings) on the reader. It can be reasonably argued that some of the statements written were just as radical and antagonistic as it accused the judiciary of being. Even though I may agree with most of what was written, as an unbiased reader I have to admit that the work was presumptive and does not fully address other important issues concerning the federal court system.
The Hollow Hope examines the following research question: when can judicial processes be used to produce social change? (Rosenberg 1). Rosenberg starts out the book by describing the two different theories of the courts. The first theory, the Dynamic Court view, views the court as being powerful, vigorous, and potent proponents of change (Rosenberg 1). The second theory, the Constrained Court view, views the court in the complete opposite way. With this view the court is seen as weak, ineffective, and powerless (Rosenberg 3). In this view there are three different constraints that restrict the courts from producing effective political and social change. These constraints include: limited nature of constitutional rights, lack of judicial independence, and the lack of tools the courts need (Rosenberg 35). Even though there are constraints on the court there are conditions where the court is able to overcome the constraints.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how Chief Justice John Marshall affected the American Judicial System. The reader will therefore first find a brief biography of John Marshall. Then the paper will explain in detail the origins of the Judicial Power to subsequently...
The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court, by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong, gives the public an intimate description of the justices who serve on the Supreme Court in the 1969-1976. This book also gives an unprecedented look at the daily work and personal lives of the justices. The book describes the relationships the justices have with each other and the relationships they have with their clerks. Woodward and Armstrong give the reader insight to the justice's personalities and their personal agenda. There is an appearance that the justices use their positions on the Supreme Court to push their ideologies and create laws instead of enforcing the laws set by congress.
was Burger, and he reaffirmed that “it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” The Supreme Court is the superior symbol of the U.S. law, so it has duties to protect the justice t...
On the surface, it seems that determining how much power courts have would be a simple task. However, history has proven this to be false. The courts have been viewed in many different ways through out the history of our country. There are three common views of court power that are important for modern scholars of the court system. Those who believe courts have little power to cause social change are said to adhere to the Constrained Court view. Those who believe courts have a great deal of power to cause social change are said to adhere to the Dynamic Court view. The final, and youngest, take on court power combines aspects of the Constrained and Dynamic views into what I shall call the Condition Dependent Court view of power. This view sees that there are certain conditions which allow the court to cause social change.
views as to whether or not Judicial review, and the Supreme Court as a whole,
Dahl, R. A. (2001). Decision-making in a democracy: the Supreme Court as a national policy-maker. (Honorary Reprint). Emory Law Journal, 50(2), 563–582.
The life of every American citizen, whether they realize it or not, is influenced by one entity--the United States Supreme Court. This part of government ensures that the freedoms of the American people are protected by checking the laws that are passed by Congress and the actions taken by the President. While the judicial branch may have developed later than its counterparts, many of the powers the Supreme Court exercises required years of deliberation to perfect. In the early years of the Supreme Court, one man’s judgement influenced the powers of the court systems for years to come. John Marshall was the chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, and as the only lasting Federalist influence in a newly Democratic-Republican government, he and his fellow justices sought to perpetuate their Federalist principles in the United States’ court system. In one of the most memorable court cases of all time--the case of Marbury v. Madison-- Marshall established the idea of judicial review and strengthened the power of the judicial branch in the government. Abiding by his Federalist ideals, Marshall decided cases that would explicitly limit the power of the state government and broaden the strengths of the national government. Lastly, the Marshall Court was infamous for determining the results of cases that dealt with the interpretation of the Constitution and the importance of contracts in American society. The Marshall Court, over the span of a mere three decades, managed to influence the life of every American citizen even to this day by impacting the development of the judicial branch, establishing a boundary between the state and national government, and making declarations on the sanctity of contracts ("The Marshall Court"...
Government officials serving in the Judiciary branch hold incredible power, not only due to judicial review, but also because they are insulated from the American people. Supreme Court Justices are unelected and hold lifelong terms in office. Officials that are appointed by the President or a party usually have that person or party’s interests in mind. This action is not democratic because it allows the Judicial Bench to be stacked with a singular party’s morals and beliefs. This phenomenon contradicts all aspects of democracy by giving indispensable powers to these officials for life, by taking away the people’s right to representation by election, and by allowing certain degrees of judicial activism. Unelected judges that make important decisions for the American Government are not held responsible or accountable for any actions that appear to be wrong in the public’s eye because they cannot be removed from office except when having been convicted of a felony.
Founders of the United States of America believed in providing the people of this great nation with a fair, and impartial judicial system. The basic rights of the people, which are listed in the Bill of Rights, needed to be respected and protected by the government. Abraham Lincoln once said “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth”. Every part of the United States government has a duty to protect the people that gave the government power, and one organization in particular plays a very large role in this charge. The Judicial System of the United States America is a complex organization constructed to uphold the authority of the Constitution, and federal law. The judges within the judicial system must uphold an honest, and fair regiment when attempting to define justice during a case in any of the different courts; without this, the rights guaranteed to the people would be voided of any value and the judicial system, or the judges in particular, would fail to meet the duties they are charged with. Judges are government officials who must follow strict principles and rules in order to justly uphold the constitution, and the laws of the U.S., and when these officials do not, they must be punished to prevent further misconduct from occurring.
The Judicial Branch is one of three branches of government that play a crucial role in the United States. Not only is it responsible for protecting and carrying out the textual and living form of the Constitution, but also insuring that we, as citizens, are not being violated by the laws that are established. Although checks and balances are present to ensure that the judicial branch, legislative branch, and executive branch don’t become to powerful over the other, each is still very susceptible to political forces; and this includes the judiciary branch.
His definition of what constitutes as significant social change is entirely too narrow. Rosenberg asserts on national changes in officials' behavior directly caused by court decisions and utterly distorts how social change through court action occurs. By defining significant social change so meticulously and requiring specific empirical referents as evidence of judicial impact, he taints his analysis in favor of the constrained view. Rosenberg misstates the true extent of the Court's power not only because his models of influence and judging are misconceived, but also because he utilizes flawed methods for identifying causal connections. Further, Rosenberg paints an unfairly picture of the Supreme Court because he avoids the examination of the work of lower courts. The Supreme Court normally does not implement the rules it develops, rather depends on lower courts to apply its rules in particular cases. To be an effective analysis of Supreme Court influence, Rosenberg cannot neglect the application of its decisions by lower courts. By refusing to pursue this rich line of inquiry Rosenberg's analysis is severely impoverished and his conclusions are brought into question. Finally, Rosenberg's definition of what constitutes the significant social reform that he pursues to examine is quite vague. It is unclear how many people must be affected for reform to be considered
The significant impact Robert Dahl’s article, “Decision-Making in a Democracy: the Supreme Court as a National Policy-Maker” created for our thought on the Supreme Court it that it thoroughly paved the way towards exemplifying the relationship between public opinion and the United States Supreme Court. Dahl significantly was able to provide linkages between the Supreme Court and the environment that surrounds it in order for others to better understand the fundamental aspects that link the two together and explore possible reasoning and potential outcomes of the Court.
Robert N. Clinton, ‘Judges Must Make Law: A Realistic Appraisal of the Judicial Function in a Democratic Society’ [1981-1982] 67 Iowa L. Rev. 711 http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/ilr67&div=38&g_sent=1&collection=journals accessed 12 February 2012
During the first century of rulings within the Supreme Court, it was apparent that oral arguments had evoked a potent effect on the courts overall decision making process. Within today’s modern day society oral arguments continue to maintain their effect over the decisions of the court. There are several legal scholars who argue for the opposite effect. This effect establishes that oral arguments no longer have the same impact on the court because individual Justices have strong attitudes about personal policy preferences. However, oral arguments help Justices gather information not presented in the briefs and further aids them in utilizing those proceedings to raise questions about personal policy preferences. In addition, oral arguments serve