Does the Supreme Court Have Too Much Power for an Unelected Body?

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Does the Supreme Court have too much power for an unelected body? The third branch of the federal government is the judiciary, which enforces and interprets the law. There are three tiers of courts the trial courts, the appeal courts and the Supreme Court. The latter court is most important; its members hold office for life in addition to this it has the authority to interpret the Constitution. The Supreme Court is both a judicial and political body. The framers of the Constitution wanted to ensure that the judges or justices of the Supreme Court would be truly independent of both the executive and legislative branches (this is in line with the principle of separation of powers). Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed not elected this is because they wanted the Court to be beyond the control of the electorate. The founding fathers wanted a genuinely independent Supreme Court that would settle legal disputes without fear of possible reprisal or that would bend to the whim of the electorate. 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. It does not say the Supreme Court has the power to declare legislation or the executive action as unconstitutional; this power over the federal and state legislation has turned the court from being a solely judicial body to a body
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