Civics and How the Supreme Court Affects Our Democracy

0 Shares

Our government under the US Constitution began in 1789.[1] Article III of the Constitution provides that “the judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court and inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”

The Constitution does not set the number of Supreme Court Justices. Only the office of the Chief Justice is mentioned. It is Congress and not the Constitution that determines the number of Supreme Court Justices.[2] According to the National Constitutional Center, a nonprofit organization that focuses on constitutional education and debate, the Judiciary Act of 1789 established the framework for the Supreme Court, the circuit and district courts.[3] President George Washington nominated six Supreme Court Justices that were approved by Congress. John Jay became the first Supreme Court Justice.[4] In June 2022, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as only the 104^th Associate Justice and the first African American woman.[5]

As noted in Britannica.com, the Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, established the doctrine of judicial review, that is, to declare whether an act of Congress is unconstitutional.[6]

Whether judicial review amounts to judicial supremacy is an issue addressed by Suzanna Sherry and Herman Loewenstein at Vanderbilt Law School. According to the authors, judicial review allows courts to have an equal say with the executive and legislative branches of government. Here, as the authors write, the Supreme Court in determining constitutionality, is the final arbiter only in that the Court acts last, not that its voice is supreme.[7] Since the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020[8] after the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the Supreme Court has maintained a 6-3 conservative majority.[9]

Below are just a few Supreme court decisions that have brought about significant changes to our democracy.

In Shelby County v. Holder, 570 US 529 (2013), the Supreme Court removed section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As explained by the Brennan Center for Justice, an independent, non-partisan law and policy organization,[10] section 5 required jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to submit proposed changes in voting procedures to the U.S. Justice Department or a federal district court to ensure that minority voting rights would not be negatively affected. The ruling was a 5 to 4 conservative majority;[11]

In Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. ____ 2022, according to Scotusblog.com, a blog that provides independent news and analysis of the U S. Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) was overturned holding that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right an abortion, thereby erasing fifty years of precedent. With the Dobbs decision, the individual states now regulate the extent to which a woman may have an abortion.[12] Since the decision, several states have enacted legislation restricting access to abortions.[13]The ruling was 6-3 conservative majority;[14]

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., v. Bruen, 597 U.S. ____ (2022), according to the Associated Press, an independent news organization, the Supreme Court struck down a New York state law that restricted who could obtain a permit to carry a gun in public, thereby expanding the rights of Americans to carry firearms according to the Second Amendment.[15] The ruling was 6 to 3 conservative majority.[16]

Why is this important?

Why do we need to know this?

These decisions have broad political implications. Vox, a news and opinion website, notes that in the aftermath of Shelby, threats to voting rights and possible voter suppression have become a greater concern.[17] Time Magazine noted that one justice in a concurring opinion in the Dobbs decision, went further, suggesting that the Supreme Court review those past cases that guarantee the right to contraception, same-sex marriage and same-sex consensual relations.[18] As reported in the US Census Bureau, according to the 2019 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, there are 543,000 same-sex married couple households.[19]

A June 23, 2022 article from Gallup, and analytics and advice firm, reported that confidence in the Supreme Court has dropped sharply in the past year, sinking to a new low where only 25% of adult claim “a great deal” of confidence in the Supreme Court.[20] A July 13, 2022 report from Statista, a company specializing in market and consumer data, revealed that only 16% of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job, the lowest point in a year.[21] In a July 6, 2022 report from the Pew Research Center, 57% of adults disapproved of the Dobbs decision.[22] Moreover, the Bruen decision that expanded gun rights under the 2nd Amendment, came after a spate of recent gun violence.

Of the last four justices appointed to the Supreme Court, three are described as conservative having been nominated by the prior administration.

But must the justices reflect the political views of the public? The whole point of having justices with lifetime tenure is so that they may be insulated from political pressures.

But is that the case? Is the Court free from political pressure?

Justices are appointed, not elected. Presidents nominate justices who share their same political views and these justices have lifetime tenures. This enables presidents to maintain influence well beyond his/her time in in office, even when societal norms and public opinions may have changed.

Elections have consequences.

Therefore, voting matters!

Be Informed

Be Engaged

Be Involved

[1] https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-constitution-ratified

[2] https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_06-29-22c

[3] https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/who-were-the-first-six-supreme-court-justices

[4] https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/who-were-the-first-six-supreme-court-justices

[5] https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_06-29-22c

[6] https://www.britannica.com/event/Marbury-v-Madison

[7] https://law.vanderbilt.edu/news/a-summary-of-why-we-need-more-judicial-activism/