Originalism

The Judicial branch in the U.S. government is an important branch because this branch interprets the Constitution. More specifically, it is the Supreme Court justices that are entrusted to interpret the Constitution. The Supreme Court justices help shape our legal system. There are usually nine Supreme Court justices. This paper will be focusing on Supreme Court justice Stephen G. Breyer in regards to his early life and his legal career before he became a Supreme Court justice. Also, this paper…

Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed a total of seven justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. Author and professor of Law at Harvard, writer Noah Feldman, focuses on the Supreme Court of FDR in his book Scorpions, particularly the stories of the four most influential and revolutionary justices: Felix Frankfurter, Hugo Black, William O. Douglas, and Robert Jackson. Feldman seeks to analyze what influenced each justices’ decisions in the court, and follows their evolution on the bench. Overall, Feldman…

The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (1900) set of fundamental laws that dictate how powers are granted, ordered and exercised within the Australian Commonwealth. As Australia’s social and political climate changes with time, the constitution is changed due to it’s out-dated, irrelevant or lack of clauses. This can happen in several ways with two distinct outcomes – its form can be altered (the actual text and clauses of the written act change) or its operation can be reinterpreted.…

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…

restrainers do not see themselves as being able to make law from the bench. Other major corresponding characteristics and ideologies judicial restrainers frequently share with one another is their firm, textualist view of the constitution, adherence to originalism in comparison to nonoriginalism, state rights advocates, and sometimes participation in republican politics. Roger B. Taney is an important restrainer…

The question presented to the Supreme Court in Raich v. Gonzales is whether or not the Commerce Clause affords Congress the power to ban the growth, use, and sale of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and whether it can enforce that act against ill people whose doctors prescribed to them medical marijuana as a remedy. Writing for the majority in that case, Justice John Paul Stevens employed Justice Breyer’s strand of pragmatism. The premise of that approach is that the Constitution…

Proposal #2: Money and Politics: A Citizens United Story One of the most controversial court cases that has pitted the main political forces against each other this past decade has been the controversial Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission. The background of the case, as taken from the website of the FEC states the following: “The Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) prohibits corporations and labor unions from using their general treasury funds to make electioneering…

The Founding Fathers on rights: Comparing the Federalists’ and Anti-Federalists’ views on rights, and what ended up in the Bill of Rights. In the year 1776, America was at the threshold of nationhood. There was debate and discussion about every aspect of this project because this new nation was a chance to change the things that the Founders disliked about the British rule. One of the divisive issues, was the necessity of the Bill of Rights. America was founded despite the fact that the…