The process is started by the President nominating a replacement to the vacant seat on the supreme court. A Supreme Court nomination is regarded as one of the most important decisions made in a Presidency. This is because the supreme court is referred to as “the echo-chamber” of previous Presidents, given justices are appointed for life. Because of this, Presidents will appoint justices with similar jurisprudence, their specific ideological views on the law, an example of this would be the appointment of Antonin Scalia, a strict-constructionist, by Ronald Reagan in 1986. Scalia is currently seen as the most conservative on the court.
Article III of the US Constitution establishes the judiciary branch - the Supreme Court. Although the US Constitution includes democratic principles such as checks and balances and the separation of powers to ensure the equal balance of power amongst the government branches, the legislative branch was designed to be most powerful. The organization and qualifications of Congress also contribute to the democratic shortcomings of the US Constitution. One of the biggest of these government decisions is electing the president, for which the system of the electoral college is in place. The US Constitution did not abolish slavery, and an interesting guarantee regarding slavery was included in Article IV of the Constitution.
One arguments showing that public participation advances democracy is that it allows a wider range of candidates to run for presidency that are not part of the Washington establishment. This enhances democracy because the public have a wide variety of candidates to choose from and can pick the candidate that they believe will represent and support their political ideology. The process is therefore opened up to outsiders who do not initially have a national reputation such as Bill Clinton in 1992, Barack Obama in 2008 and Hillary Clinton in 2008 also. For example Hillary Clinton was considered an outsider because she was a female candidate and only male candidates have yet made it to presidency. The fact that the process is open to unlikely candidates and the public have the right to choose such candidates means that democracy is advanced because the decision lies with the public.
There are nine member of the Supreme Court including a chief justice, the number is fixed by congress and has remained unchanged since 1869. These members are appointed by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate. The members hold office for life 'during good behavior', but can also be impeached, tried and removed from office by Congress; otherwise justices leave the Court only by voluntary retirement or death. Article III of the Constitution deals with the judiciary power of the American system of government, it makes the US Supreme Court the nation’s highest judicial body. However, it says nothing of the political role of the court.
The House of Representatives originates and spends bills. The Senate impeaches officials and approves treaties. The soul duty of the Legislative Branch is to make Laws. “Under the Constitution, Congress has legislative authority, but that power is partly shared with other branches and thus checked by them” (Patterson 51). This describes that the legislative branch does not have power over any other branch of government; there is checks and balances always occurring throughtout the government.”Within Cogress, there is a further check on legislative power: for legislation to passed, a majority in each chamber of Congress is required” (Patterson 51).
If the power wasn’t divided then there would only be the government; no President, Congress, or Supreme Court. This is how separation of powers prevents tyranny. Checks and balances prevents tyranny. According to Federalist paper #51, each branch has a strength over each other. The executive branch can nominate judges for the Supreme Court and can veto laws the Congress create.
My partner and I strongly urge you to negate the resolution due to the following contentions: Contention #1: The Electoral College can enhance the ideologies of the Democratic and Republican parties. The Electoral College’s two party system encourages political stability. Because third party presidential candidates cannot easily win the election, the Democratic and Republican parties will assimilate and embrace the views of the third party. Due to this compromise of ideologies, the national population’s support will increase, providing more accuracy and political stability in the selection of presidents. According to the Missouri Election Board in Jackson County, “..We end up with two large, pragmatic political parties which tend to the center of public opinion rather than dozens of smaller political parties catering to divergent and sometimes extremist views.” In the direct popular vote, many presidents representing minor, regional parties will run, causing problems such as the disruption from an electoral majority.
PT 1: The American Constitution: Structure & Ideology Last Week - Negative Liberty – Leave me alone mentality - Education itself is not government involvement. But progressing people - American Tradition puts the Constitution as a contract (by consent) - Self Rule – “We the People” - Power works through the office of the president (we the people govern) - Virginia Plan/New Jersey Plan - The U.S. Constitution is not simply a model to be given to other countries to copy. It goes back to the Constitution being a compromise. Article 1: Congress (7 Articles) - Longest section of the Constitution (2,243 words) - Compromised of 10 sections [Framers thought Congress would be the most important aspect in government.] [What is the opposite of freedom?
The Jacksonian Democrats of the early 1800’s often claimed that they were guardians of the Constitution, economic equality, individual liberty, and political democracy. However, a closer look at their leader Andrew Jackson’s policies and decisions while in office will show us, as with most politicians, that his party’s claims were not entirely verifiable. First, let’s look at the statement that the Jacksonian Democrats were guardians of the Constitution. The evidence provided in Document B, compounded with the testimonies of Documents A, C, F, and G, as well as many of Supreme Court Justice John Marshall’s cases, blatantly show the speciousness of these claims. As shown by Documents C and G, Jackson overstepped his Constitutional bounds in each of situation, that of the closure of the Second Bank of America, and that of the Indian Removal.
Federal Court also deals with cases concerning state law if the issue is about whether or not a state law violates the Federal Constitution. State Courts are established by a state and have a broad jurisdiction. They are not allowed to hear cases about lawsuits against the United States or cases involving specific federal law. Some such cases would include bankruptcy, copyright, patent, and some maritime law issues. State Courts have more contact with the public than Federal Courts and deal with