Homework answers / question archive / 3) Many observers regard the Supreme Court's use of judicial review as the ultimate check on Congress

3) Many observers regard the Supreme Court's use of judicial review as the ultimate check on Congress

Psychology

Share With

---

3) Many observers regard the Supreme Court's use of judicial review as the ultimate check on Congress. If the justices invalidated a federal law in a case, what would you want to know in order to assess the strength of that checking power? Explain.

 

4. How do we know that John Marshall took Thomas Jefferson's priorities into account when deciding Marbury v. Madison (1803)?

 

5. Suppose that the 2020 election results in the Democratic Party controlling both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. If Democrats in both chambers begin considering legislative proposals to restrict the Court --- say, to expand the size of the Supreme Court or to limit the Court's ability to hear certain legal issues --- would we expect the Court's decisions to be affected by such legislative threats? Why or why not?

 

6. Does the evidence suggest that the justices care about how they are viewed by sophisticated observers of the Supreme Court? Explain.

 

7. In order to promote more inclusive learning environments, a good many public universities have instituted speech codes. These rules often prohibit the expression of potentially offensive ideas on campus. Suppose the Supreme Court ruled that these codes violate the constitutional guarantee of free speech. Do you think that all the affected universities would eliminate their speech codes? What reason do you have to believe that they would (or would not)?

 

8. In 1970, several states made changes in their abortion laws. Why are those changes important for understanding the impact of Supreme Court policy?

 

9. According to Lawrence Baum in The Supreme Court, what mechanisms does the Supreme Court have to address those who refuse to implement its decisions?