- Judicial Review- a review by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act.
(b) Explain how judicial review empowers the Supreme Court within the system of checks and balances.
- A Judicial review can give power to the supreme court by allowing them to declare some legislature unconstitutional. They can basically control the lawmaking of congress and even the president.
(c) Describe the process through which the Court grants a writ of certiorari.
- A writ of certiorari is when the court decides to review a case that they would usually not review. Usually it comes from parties who have lost in a lower court, and is unhappy with the decision. That Party then has to petition the Supreme court to ask if they can hear their case. The Justices will then have to have a majority agree to see the case.
(d) Explain how each of the following influences decisions made by individual justices when deciding cases
- Heard by the Court - The court agrees or disagrees on a case, and then use the constitution to decide their ruling.
- Stare decisis - This is usually when a case has already been decided on by the Supreme court, they stand by their decision. This can make it difficult to change negative rulings, but it is also a possibility to reverse the previous decisions.
- Judicial activism - This is when judges have rulings based on their personal political beliefs or general bias instead of constitutional law. Bias can get in the way of making a fair decision in court, especially on cases that deal with religion or morals.
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