Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

The Rehnquist Court Era ended in 2005 with his death in Arlington, Virginia. His influence on the Court has been one of the most palatable of the last century. Rehnquist was the fourth longest serving Chief Justices in U.S. history. His confirmation was not met without controversy. Yet once on the court he proved himself to be beloved by his colleagues and as Chief Justice was able to shape the direction of the court throughout his tenure. Throughout his time on the nation’s highest court he would seek to enhance the power of states to expand their abilities to construct policies, as he sought to limit federal power. This culminated successfully with the striking down of laws under the Commerce Power in U.S. versus Lopez. However, as a Chief Justice he would often act as a writer and arbitrator of majority opinions to maintain past precedent and to moderate the decisions of the court. At times even upholding precedent, which he vehemently dissented from originally. Rehnquist’s time on the court was marked by his flexibility in his decisions, as he would write opinions for both the liberal and conservative sides of the court. His approach differs starkly from the other conservative justices on the court; in comparison the conservative firebrand Justice Scalia, he valued tradition and compromise over orthodoxy. The confirmation of his successor was…

For the case of Abrams Vs The United States it started in New York, New York in Union Square. Where some russian immigrants were throwing pamphlets from a second-story window out to the public. In June of 1917, Two months after the U.S entered the war congress passed the espionage act. This act established three basic wartime offense: conveying false information intended with U.S military operation, causing insubordination in the military, and obstructing recruiting . In May of 1918 the…

agreeing with Justice White’s opinion, Justice Powell, joined by Justice O’Connor, and Justice Blackmun wrote concurring opinions. Justice Powell believed that Justice White should have spent more time discussing the fact that students should not have the same constitutional protections as individuals in non-school settings. Justice Powell noted that, “It is simply unrealistic to think that students have the same subjective expectation of privacy as the population generally.” Because of the…

Vermont Supreme Court which found that Brillon’s right to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment. However, the case was not finalized yet as the Supreme Court would hear the case. On March 9t, 2009, the Supreme Court issued a ruling on Vermont vs. Brillon. A majority opinion was authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The majority found that Brillon’s Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial was not violated. The Court took into account Barker vs. Wingo which declared that the right to a…

Medellin v. Texas was a local court case that took place in 2007, and accomplished the Supreme Court ruling that non-local treaties, such as the Vienna Convention of the Laws treaty, were not self-executing, and therefore, were not binding upon state courts; in other words that if state courts decide not to honor such treaties, they were not forced to. Jose Ernesto Medellin was a Mexican citizen who was born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico in March 4, 1975. Although he was born on the other…

The majority of the court’s opinion was presented by Justice Lewis Powell. In their analysis they concluded that the Baldus Study did not establish the clear intent of racial discrimination in the plaintiff’s case. They claimed that McCleskey failed to prove that any participating member in his case acted in a discriminatory manner against him. They concluded that discretion is crucial factor in the criminal justice process. Due to the critical need for discretion the plaintiff would have to…

Brandon Betterman, the petitioner in this case, pleads guilty to jumping bail after not appearing for his court date on charges of domestic assault. Between his conviction and his sentencing, Betterman waited fourteen months due to a delay within the institution (Betterman). He believes that fourteen months should be taken off of his sentencing. This began the ultimate constitutional debate concerning what he considered his right to a speedy trial. The ruling claimed by the Montana Supreme Court…

Chief Justice Rehnquist was appointed by Richard Nixon, in part as a response to the Warren Court’s liberal streak, which he used as a campaign issue. During his confirmation he was met with controversy as it became apparent he in fact disagreed with the precedent set in Borwn v. Board of Education. As an associate Justice he began as states’ rights advocate, which often not only placed Rehnquist not only in the minority, but as a lone dissenter. As time wore on the Court began to become more…

brought to the Supreme Court by Richard G. Evans (Respondent), a gay employee of the mayor of Denver against then Governor Roy Romers, The Attorney General of Colorado, and the State of Colorado (Petitioner). The case was centered around an amendment to the state constitution that prohibited “the state of Colorado… at any level of state or local government from adopting or enforcing any law or policy which provides that homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, conduct, or relationships…

The court system in our country was created under the influences from the Justinian Code, after the Roman Emperor Justinian I, Napoleonic Code, and the common law of Great Britain. Federal and States courts have separate political jurisdictions and procedures, nonetheless, both were established to solve conflicts. However, court systems are different than police departments, in that courts are in a hierarchy order. When a case is seen at a court, the loosing party can appeal to court with more…