Notes Questions on Judiciary

1. Name two aspects of Common Law.

1. Based upon a system of unwritten law.
2. Unwritten laws are based upon precedents.
2. What does Article !i"e Con!ress the power to do in relationship to the
#udiciary$
Article III gives Congress the power to create "inferior" lower!
courts.
%. What do federal #ud!es ha"e to protect them from political attac&s$
"udges in these courts hold life terms. #$I% &A% A'()A*+(, $A-I'#.*/%
0BI1 I+(A2 I* 3(+(,A'I%# 456.
'. Who wrote a(out lifelon! tenure and in which )ederalist *aper$
Alexander Hamilton wrote about lifelong tenure in Federalist #78.
+. )ederal #ud!es are appointed (y the *resident with what from Con!ress$
,ow is this considered a chec& on the *resident-s power$
Appointed by the 7resident with 0advice and consent2 of %enate.
#he 7resident must choose someone who will be confirmed8
.. n order to (e appointed a prospecti"e federal #ud!e must recei"e a ////////
"ote from the 0enate.
A ma9ority vote is needed for confirmation.
1. What continues lon! after a *resident lea"es office$ *lease pro"ide one
e2ample of this phenomenon.
A 7resident:s influence continues long after they leave office
due to %upreme Court selections and lifetime tenure. (arl
&arren was I;e:s 0biggest mista;e.2
3. What types of #ud!es do *residents typically appoint$
7residents generally try to appoint people of similar
philosophy.
4. What power does Con!ress ha"e o"er the num(er of #ud!es appointed$
Congress can increase or decrease the number of courts and
9udges. If it had a <(,= undesirable 7resident> it could reduce
the number of 9udges by not allowing vacancies to be filled of
9udges who had retired or died.
15. Which case esta(lished the power of #udicial re"iew$
#he 7ower of 9udicial review was established by -arbury v.
-adison in 16?@.
11. What is one e2ample of the 0upreme Court o"errulin! one of its earlier
decisions$
Brown v. Board overturned 7lessy v. 3erguson
12. Which cases are more common the 0upreme Court appellate or those of
ori!inal #urisdiction$
Cases from appellate 9urisdiction are far more numerous than
from original 9urisdiction.
1%. A(out how many cases are !ranted in re"iew (y the 0upreme Court each
year$ Are these cases considered numerous or relati"ely few$
#housands of reAuests are made for %upreme Court
decisions> but relatively few reAuests are granted. ,ecent
trend is for even fewer cases to be accepted each year. B6?
per year!
1'. 62plain the 7ule of ' as it relates to court cases heard (y the 0upreme
Court.
,ule of CD In order for the Court to decide a case> C "ustices
must agree to do so.
1+. What does amicus curiae mean$
An amicus curiae is a "friend of the court" brief.
1.. What can the Court N89 do if somethin! is written a(out in the
Constitution$
#he Court cannot stri;e down something as unconstitutional if
it is in the ConstitutionE
11. 62plain what #udicial acti"ism means. *ro"ide 9W8 e2amples.
Judicial Activism is a philosophy that the courts should take
an active role in solving societys problems. 2 Examples:
1. %tri;ing down #ope;a %chool Board:s policy of seg. in
Brown v. Board 1FGC!
2. %tri;ing down 3lorida recount in Bush v. 1ore 2???
13. 62plain what #udicial restraint means.
"udicial restraint is a philosophy holding that the courts should allow
the states and the other two branches of the federal government to
solve social> economic> and political problems.
14. ,ow does #udicial restraint relate to the )oundin! )athers: accordin! to
some$
"udicial restraint suggests that courts should follow original
intent of 3oundersD decide cases on basis of what the
3ounders wanted.
25. What were some criticisms of the 6arl Warren court (y those who support
#udicial restraint ;name all four in (old<$
Conservatives complained about the liberal Court was too activist>
Conservatives complained about the Court/s 9udicial activism inD
1. ,ights of the accused> e.g.> reAuiring the police to issue "-iranda
warnings."
2. Civil rights> e.g.> desegregating public schools in Brown v. Board.
@. Civil liberties> e.g.> of prohibiting prayer in school.
C. 7olitical issues> e.g.> Ba;er v. Carr> 1FH2.
21. What was the timeframe of the Warren =ur!er Court$ What landmar&
decision was decided (y that court which mi!ht ha"e (een considered
acti"ist$
The Burger Court timeframe was from 199 to 198. The
landmar! de"ision b# the Burger Court "onsidered $a"ti%ist&
b# Conser%ati%es was 'oe %. (ade )197*+.