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Supreme Court's Legitimacy and Controversies

May 5, 2025

Heimlich's History: Supreme Court Controversies and Legitimacy

Overview

  • Unit: AP Government, Unit 2
  • Focus: Supreme Court decisions leading to questions of legitimacy
  • Objectives:
    • Explain how judicial review and life tenure lead to debates on legitimacy
    • Describe how other branches can limit Supreme Court's power

Key Terms

Judicial Activism

  • Courts establish policy considering broad societal effects.
  • Often seen as a negative trait.
  • Examples:
    • Liberal Warren Court: Accused post Brown v. Board of Education (integration of schools, overturning legal racial segregation)
    • Conservative Roberts Court: Accused post Citizens United v. FEC (campaign finance, aiding Republican candidates)

Judicial Restraint

  • Judges avoid policy-making, focus on constitutionality.
  • Emphasis on precedent and "stare decisis."
  • Challenges: Can uphold harmful precedents (e.g., Plessy v. Ferguson's "separate but equal" doctrine)

Controversial Supreme Court Decisions

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

  • Context: Missouri Compromise of 1820 restricted slavery
  • Decision:
    • Enslaved people not citizens, cannot sue in federal court
    • Compromise of 1820 struck down as unconstitutional (5th Amendment property rights)
  • Impact:
    • Opened nation to slavery
    • Abolitionists and Northerners questioned Court's legitimacy

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

  • Context: WWII, post-Pearl Harbor, Executive Order 9066
  • Decision: Upheld Japanese-American internment
  • Impact:
    • Judicial restraint upholding prior Hirabayashi decision
    • Questioned legitimacy due to rights violations against citizens

Roe v. Wade

  • Not detailed in this session; covered in Unit 3

Checking Supreme Court's Power

Congressional Checks

  1. Laws Modifying Court Decisions:
    • Example: U.S. v. Lopez, Congress amended gun laws
  2. Constitutional Amendments:
    • Example: 13th Amendment overturned Dred Scott
  3. Legislation Impacting Jurisdiction:
    • Congress can alter appellate jurisdiction

Presidential Checks

  1. Judicial Appointments:
    • Appoint justices to influence future decisions
  2. Non-enforcement of Decisions:
    • Example: Andrew Jackson's defiance on Cherokee removal

Conclusion

  • Actions: Subscribe for more videos, access supporting materials
  • Note: Importance of understanding checks on judicial power in AP Government curriculum

Full transcript