Once the Supreme Court make a ruling it's pretty much set in stone (final say). Supreme
Court can be modified by congress but not overturned or vetoed. It's best known powers is
the Judicial review or to declare legislation or executive act in violation of the constitution.
Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. This court was put into place to make sure
each branch know they limits of power and they do not overstep boundaries. Judicial System
make sure the American people values are not undermine, for example; freedom of speech,
freedom of religion, and the process of law. Supreme Court handles many cases between the
states, high ranking ministers, and ambassadors. There are many that would argue that the
federal judiciary is the most powerful branch of the government. I would agree with this as
it is the main decider of our laws and translation of our constitutional rights as an American
citizen. Among the many courts in the world the justices the supreme court supports are the
highest in the entire country. The supreme court is the judicial branch of government that is
the deciding factor between territories and states on what laws are constitutional or not and
it is made up of nine judges. They decide whether to overturn or agree with lower courts
decisions that are submitted to them and often times will help with the cases that are the
most influential, controversial and the ones that are heavily covered by the media. One of
the most controversial cases was one of election. The Bush v Gore case was overturned by
the supreme court in favor of Bush becoming the next president of the United States because
the question became whether or not the voters were properly being represented during the
election. But ultimately the reason it is so powerful comes down to the constitution which
states that "the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court."
Meaning all decisions will come down to them. As many people have argued, I do believe
the U.S Supreme Court has the most power. While there is a great system of checks and
balances and I do not think we could rearrange it any other way. The legislative branch has
the power to create laws and the executive branch has the president of the United States,
they both have to be check by the U.S Supreme Court. Although, the president nominates
the judges and Senate confirms them; once appointed the supreme court judges may serve
for life. This is the only government position in which you are appointed for life. In article
III section one it states "the power shall be invested in the supreme court." The U.S Supreme
court has made some very big decisions in court that have been life-changing. For example,
in Dred Scott V. Sanford (1857) the Scott's filed a couple lawsuits for their freedom from
their owner. They lost the first trail but went back for retrial and won. This was the first
stepping stone towards the civil war as it fueled many anti-slavery movements back then. I
would agree that our federal judiciary is our most power branch of the government, because
of our U.S Supreme Court. For example look at the case Schenck v. United States in 1819.
Schenck was making anti military pamphlets encouraging people to not enlist in the military.
Schenck thought he could get away with it since he had freedom of speech. It was violated
and seen as a clear and present danger to society. Another case is Miranda v. Arizona in
1966. Mr. Miranda was interrogated by the police for over two hours and the cops never
telling him his rights. These are two cases that the U.S Supreme Court not only made a
decision on that impacted the people directly involved but became instilled in our society.
Most people take these things for granted but without these cases who knows what outcomes
we would have today. The Supreme Court has one chief justice and eight associates all who
are chosen by the president. Anyone can be a federal judge which I think there should be
some limitation before becoming a judge. I don't think the federal judiciary is the most
powerful branch of government. The most powerful branch of government would be the
legislative branch. Even though the federal judiciary branch is contributed to the supreme
court. The legislative branch is who is in charge of making and passing laws, they can also
declare war. Every law has to go to the legislative branch to be decided if it can be passed or
not. Making it to to where they have the final say so. The supreme court however does have
the right to declare any laws unconstitutional. Even though the judicial branch is consisting
of the courts and enforcing laws, that's pretty much all they do in regards to their duties
involving the branch of government. As i stated previously, the legislative branch has many
other authorities and powers like making all the laws and declaring war. With them being in
the position to make all the laws, the judicial branch has to pretty much just be in charge of
enforcing the laws. Which makes the legislative branch have the upper hand against the
judicial branch. I am a believer that the U.S. Supreme Court holds much of the power that
carries
the federal judiciary branch of government. The U.S. Supreme Court holds the power to
make decisions in cases that will affect the outcome for the people, the government and the
upholding of the U.S. Constitution.
This clearly shows, in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade. The courts granted women the right to
terminate a pregnancy without the governments say. This was a violation of privacy which is
a constitutional right. With Gideon v. Wainwright in 1961, The U.S. Supreme Court
established that ALL who could not afford legal representation for a federal case would be
appointed one by the court. This decision was based on the14th Amendment supporting the
6th Amendment of the Constitution stating that the right to counsel had been violated.The
federal judiciary requirements in the U.S. Constitution were not really specified. Nominees
are selected by members of Congress, then the Department of Justice review the nominees
and decide of their qualifications based on their own criteria. I highly disagreed when it
comes to saying that some people argued the federal judiciary is the most powerful branch
of the government. Even the federal judiciary has some power to them they are not the most
powerful in the country. For many reasons why is because the most powerful branch would
be Legislative Branch of government because they are able to pass laws and send them
directly to the President and can also impeach the President. Federal Judiciary play many
roles in the government such as being able to interpret laws that gives them a special kind of
power in the government. The Judiciary decides when laws are being broken at to an extent
and they decides what kinds of punishment is for that crime. As for the Legislative Branch
they make all the laws, declares wars and control taxing and spending policies. So again no
I don't think that the Federal Judiciary is the most powerful branch but again it has some
power but not powerful enough.
When taking a close look at the power shared between all three of the branches of the United
States government you start to wonder which takes the crown of the most powerful of them
all. It is often said that the judiciary branch of the government has the most power because
the Supreme Court carry’s a lot of weight in decision making which in turn strengthens the
judiciary branches power but I am still going to have to disagree with the argument that the
judiciary branches is the most powerful because I would have to say that the legislative
branch takes the title of most powerful branch. According the US Constitution the legislative
branch is responsible for making all laws, declaring war, the regulation of interstate and
foreign commerce, and the controlling of taxation and spending policies. All this power
given to them by the US Constitution alone could give the legislative branch the title but
there is also the implied power that Congress has because they also possess the ability to
override their checks and balances that limit their power. I agree that the federal judiciary is
the most powerful branch of government; they are the ones in charge of Judicial Powers:
they have the power to state the congress unconstitutional(Judicial Checks Legislation) and
can state acts of executive president, or Cabinet Members. The president and Congress have
some control of the judiciary with their ability to appoint and confirm appointments of
judges and justice. Congress may change judges, modify the organization of the federal
court system, and revise the Constitution.
Some example of supreme court decision are:
Article III, Section 1, of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal
government, stating that “the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one
supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain
and establish.” These courts are supposed to serve …(https://www.theuconstitution.org) ,
Another example in 1954 the Courts unanimously ruled racially segregated public schools
are unconstitutional and violated the Fourteenth Amendment, This decision overturned a
previous case, Plessy v. Ferguson, which was the result of the separate but equal doctrine.
(www.whitehouse.gov)
“Although not always the most visible or prominent part of the American system of politics,
the federal judiciary has certainly been among the most important.” (Han, 2012) This
statement supports my agreement on how the federal judiciary is the most powerful branch
of government. The Supreme court is the highest court in the nation. There are lower Federal
courts, but they were not made explicitly made in the Constitution. The Supreme Court’s
main job is to decide if laws are constitutional, and for the individuals .The Supreme Court
is above state’s courts.
ROE V. WADE 1973
The right to privacy extends to a woman’s decision about whether to terminate her
pregnancy. “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing
the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” (U.S. Const., amend. IV)
The decision to extend this amendment, was limited to the first two trimesters of a woman’s
pregnancy. The court ruled that the right to privacy could vary from state-to-state in the third
trimester. This means that under the rights of the constitution, every woman in the United
States has the right to privacy within the 6-month period of her pregnancy. “Many
economists agree that in addition to various legal, cultural, and political ramifications, the
legalization of abortion has had far-reaching but not fully understood economic implications
for women and families and maybe tied to phenomena such as improved college graduation
rates and economic prosperity for women.” (Roe V. Wade (1973)., 2015) This is a high
contentious Supreme Court decision. I would agree that the federal judiciary is the most
powerful government branch. Also that the power is attributed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Constitutional Foundations of the Judiciary explain that "ever since 1803, when Chief
Justice John Marshall asserted the finality of Supreme Court decisions and their authority
over the presidency and Congress, the power and stature of the federal judiciary, and
especially the nation’s highest court, have grown steadily" (The Constitutional Foundations
of the Judiciary, 2012).
Examples of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions include Loving vs. Virginia (1967), Roe vs.
Wade (1973), and Marbury vs Madison (1803) which established the power of Judicial
Review in the U.S. Supreme Court. "This power, which was later extended to all federal
courts, authorizes the federal judiciary to review laws enacted by Congress and the president
and to invalidate those that violate the Constitution. The power of judicial review also
permits federal courts to compel government officials to take action in accordance with
constitutional principles" (Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, 2011). Article III, Section
1, of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government, stating that
“the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such
inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish" (U.S. federal
courts 101, 2018). I disagree that the federal judiciary is the most powerful branch of
government. In my opinion I believe the Legislative branch is the most powerful. The
Judicial branch is made up of the US Supreme Courts and the legislative branch consist of
the House and Senate. The Judicial branch decides the constitutionality of federal laws and
resolves other disputes about federal laws. They do not make laws, they interpret the laws of
Congress. They only make decisions on actual cases where someone may have shown they
have been harmed. It is the weakest branch out of the three government branches. It is the
court of last resort for those looking for justice of any sort. It is in charge of deciding the
meaning of laws. The Legislative branch actually make the laws which is why I believe that
branch to be the most powerful. The executive branch are the ones that carries out the law.
Some examples of US Supreme Court decisions would be Marbury v. Madison, Brown v.
Board Of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, and Gibbons v Ogden to name of few.
References
Han, Lori Cox, and Tomislav Han. "The Constitutional Foundations of the Judiciary."
Handbook to American Democracy, vol. 4: The Judicial Branch, Facts on File, 2012, pp. 27-
57. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2024000049/GPS?u=uphoenix&sid=bookmark-
GPS&xid=58e0be6d. Accessed 26 Jan. 2023.
"Marbury V. Madison." Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, edited by Donna Batten, 3rd
ed., vol. 6, Gale, 2011, pp. 459-463. Gale eBooks,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1337702805/GVRL?u=uphoenix&sid=bookmark-
GVRL&xid=79a66018. Accessed 26 Jan. 2023.
U.S. federal courts 101. Constitutional Accountability Center. (2018, February 25).
Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://www.theusconstitution.org/u-s-federal-courts-
101/#:~:text=Article%20III%2C%20Section%201%2C%20of,courts%20are%20supposed%2
0to%20serve
Han, L. C., & Han, T. (2012). The Constitutional Foundations of the Judiciary. In Handbook
to American Democracy (Vol. 4, pp. 27-57). Facts on File.
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2024000049/GPS?u=uphoenix&sid=bookmark-
GPS&xid=58e0be6d
The Judicial Branch, Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government. https://bensguide.gpo.gov/
U.S. Constitution
Roe V. Wade (1973). (2015). In T. Riggs(Ed.),The Gale encyclopedia of U.S. economic
history(2nded.). Gale. Credo
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/phoenix.edu?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreferenc
e.com%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fgalegue%2Froe_v_wade_1973%2F0%3FinstitutionId%3D1
98
