FRQ U2C16 - FRQ Practice Unit 2 Chapter 16 AP Government and Politics PDF

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FRQ Practice Unit 2 Chapter 16 AP Government and Politics ...

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Emily Lubas The Supreme Court intended to be politically insulated according to the framers.

Although they intended such, the Supreme Court can not actually be completely insulated from political influences. Constitutional provisions can intend to seek insulation and limit the independence of the Supreme Court. 1) a) One constitutional provision that seeks to insulate the Supreme Court from public opinion is their lifetime appointment. The justice leaves for life tenure under good behavior. The framers of the Constitution believed that Supreme Court justices once appointed and confirmed would not have to continually seek the public’s favor through regular political campaigns in the manner that Presidents and members of Congress must. In this way, unfavorable opinions by the justices would not face public retribution. Therefore, this provision insulated the Supreme Court from unfavorable public opinion. b) One power exercised by the Supreme Court that acts on another branch of the federal government is judicial review. The Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of congressional laws and executive actions; basically stated, the power to declare laws or actions unconstitutional. If found to be unconstitutional, the Supreme Court can check the power of either the legislative or executive branches. c) 1)Congress can limit the independence of the Supreme Court by bypassing decisions with constitutional amendments that contradict supreme court rulings. This can under the court’s authority by overruling constitutional findings. Congress can add or subtract numbers of the supreme court as justices as it sees fit.

2) The President can limit the independence of the Supreme Court by choosing not to enforce particular Supreme Court decisions that the President may not find to be popular. This action can undermine the legitimacy of Supreme Court decisions and their independence. Another way the President can undermine judicial independence is to go public on issues before the court. This way he can go before the cameras and provide his point of view that may have some effect on the court. d) One way the Supreme Court protects its political independence is through the maintenance of its own customs and traditions. For example, the rule of four allows justices to decide on which of the approximately 80 or so cases they will place for the year. As they may receive thousands of requests, the writs of certiorari, the Supreme Court is able to independently choose which case they find the be most politically relevant.

The Supreme Court intended to be politically insulated according to the framers. Although they intended such, the Supreme Court can not actually be completely insulated from political influences. Lifetime appointment allows the Supreme Court to be somewhat insulated from the public and it is allowed to declare laws and actions unconstitutional. The Supreme Court protects its own political independence by maintaining its own customs and traditions....