Unit 6: Judicial Branch, Civil Rights and Liberties
A. Objective: Article III of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch. One Supreme Court and a number of inferior courts will be analyzed in promoting civil rights and civil liberties through out a diverse community. This branch balances out the democratic principles established by the framers who felt it important to put a device that stabilized the power of the executive and legislative branches. The student will:
· Evaluate the formal and informal powers of the judicial branch.
· Analyze the relationships between this branch and other two, describing the varying balances of power.
· Analyze the development of civil liberties and civil rights by judicial interpretation.
· Understand the knowledge of substantive rights and liberties.
· Understand the impact of the Fourteenth Amendment on the constitutional development of rights and liberties.
B. Readings:
a. Lowi: Chapters 8 and 4 (in that order)
b. Lanahan -- pp. 283-286; 375-379; 342-349.
C. Quizzes:
a. Chapter 8—Monday March 16th
b. Chapter 4—Monday March 30th
c. Unit Exam—Thursday/Friday April 9th/10th
D. Vocabulary
Words shaded in grey belong to Chapter 8. Unshaded words belong to Chapter 4.
1. Criminal Law / 2. Plaintiff / 3. Defendant4. Civil Law / 5. Precedents / 6. Stare decisis
7. Public law / 8. Trial Court / 9. Court of Appeals
10. Supreme Court / 11. Jurisdiction / 12. Due process
13. Writ of habeas corpus / 14. Chief Justice / 15. Senatorial courtesy
16. Judicial review / 17. Supremacy clause / 18. Standing
19. Mootness / 20. Wire of certiorari / 21. Solicitor general
22. Amicus curiae / 23. Briefs / 24. Oral argument
25. Opinion / 26. Regular concurrence / 27. Special concurrence
28. Dissenting opinion / 29. Judicial restraint / 30. Judicial activism
31. Rule of four / 32. Class action suit / 33. Civil liberties
34. Civil rights / 35. Miranda Rule / 36. Establishment clause
37. Lemon test / 38. Free exercise clause / 39. Strict scrutiny
40. Clear and present danger / 41. Speech plus / 42. Prior restraint
43. Libel / 44. Slander / 45. Fighting words
46. Exclusionary rule / 47. Grand jury / 48. Double jeopardy
49. Eminent domain / 50. Right to privacy / 51. Equal protection clause
52. “separate but equal” rule / 53. De jure segregation / 54. De facto segregation
55. Intermediate scrutiny / 56. Affirmative action
Things you should know:
(From WW Norton Study Space)
Chapter 8
The Supreme Court's role in the 2000 presidential election serves as a potent reminder that justices and judges have political goals and policy preferences that make them similar to other politicians and that the federal judiciary exerts considerable political power in contemporary American politics. Indeed, the role and the power of the federal courts, particularly the Supreme Court, have been significantly strengthened and expanded in the last fifty years.
1) The Judicial Process: What types of cases does the American judiciary hear and decide? How does it proceed and render its decisions?
2) The Organization of the Court System: What types of courts constitute the federal judiciary? How are those various courts organized and what are their responsibilities? How are justices and judges selected?
3) How Do Courts Work as Political Institutions?: Treating judges as political actors and the judiciary as an important political institution, what functions do federal courts perform?
4) The Power of Judicial Review: What is judicial review? How and when was it established? How and how frequently is it used in contemporary American politics?
5) The Supreme Court in Action: What is the process by which cases reach the Supreme Court? How is the flow of cases determined? What procedures does the court employ to prepare, hear, and decide on cases?
6) Judicial Decision Making: How does the Supreme Court make its decisions? How does it interact with the Congress, the President, and the federal executive in the separation of powers framework? How might we consider these interactions as strategic behavior on the part of the Supreme Court?
7) Judicial Power and Politics: What are the traditional limitations on the federal courts? How did the Courts seek to overcome these limitations in the 20th century?
Chapter 4: Introduction
Although it is very popular today, the Bill of Rights was the subject of great controversy at the time of the American Founding. Whereas Alexander Hamilton and others thought a Bill of Rights unnecessary and even potentially dangerous to the rights of people, eventually the Bill of Rights was adopted and ratified defining the limits of government and the essential liberties of American citizens. The chapter begins by distinguishing between civil liberties, the protections of citizens from improper governmental action, and civil rights, the claims citizens are entitled to make on governmental protection.
1) Civil Liberties: Nationalizing the Bill of Rights : What role has the Bill of Rights played throughout American political history? Does the Bill of Rights protect citizens from both the national and state governments? By what process was the Bill of Rights "nationalized"?
2) The Bill of Rights Today: How are the liberties and rights embodied in the Bill of Rights applied today? What are the most salient controversies involving each of these provisions? And, how has the Supreme Court ruled?
3) Civil Rights: What roles has the national government played in providing citizens with the "equal protection of the laws" in the African American civil rights movements and in recognizing other rights claims? How has this changed the balance of federal power? How has it altered the relationship between the government and the individual?