Impact Studies and Supreme Court

There has been considerable debate over whether the Supreme court has had a significant impact upon the policy-making of the United States government. Under a popular view, the court has had a considerable impact, setting policy sometimes in contradiction of popular opinion and a legislative majority. Some say that this has given the Court an anti-democratic role, making it more powerful than the other branches. Others assert that the Court has acted as a protector of minority rights against the tyranny of the majority.

These assumptions have not always been borne out be studies, however. Analysts point out that it can be difficult to determine whether any particular Court decision coincides with a national majority. In the first place, scientific polls were not conducted prior to the last half of the Twentieth Century. This means that there is no evidence for coincidence throughout the first 150 years of the Court's existence. Second, even the results of national elections are of dubious value in this area. Elections generally have shown the opinion of only 40% to 60% of the adult population.

One way to roughly determine whether a particular Court decision was at odds with a national majority is to look at the legislation which was invalidated by the Court. From its inception to the late 1970s, the Court struck down more than ninety provisions of federal law as unconstitutional. These provisions were, of cours

. . .
n those involving federal legislation, for they have included the most important cases in Constitutional jurisprudence. Among the state and local statutes struck down were those mandating racial segregation, prohibiting certain types of speech, and prohibiting abortion. Some might say that these are too difficult to measure because they involved only local majorities. However, the subject matters of these laws were among the most controversial in the nation. Studies attempting to measure the Court's compliance with popular feeling have tended to show that the Court has taken a more important policy-making role than previously assumed. The areas in which the Court has had the most effect on policy are individual rights and liberties, speech (particularly obscenity), race relations, and criminal procedure. In particular, the Court was instrumental in creating policy in the area of race relations. The segregation statutes struck down by the Court were backed by solid majorities throughout much of the country and the Court's initial decisions were usually met with stiff opposition. However, the national consensus in this area changed over time, and the Court was instrumental in leading this change. In the area of criminal p
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Supreme Court, Franklin Roosevelt's, Roe Wade, Representatives Senate, Court Policy-Making, Twentieth Century, President Court's, Similarly Court, Dorsey Press, Freeman Company, supreme court, national majority, court decisions, policy-making role, freeman company 1978, court systems, behavior ed, judicial process, process behavior, san francisco wh, ed sheldon, wh freeman company, systems readings, american court systems, goldman austin sarat,
Approximate Word count = 1842
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Impact Studies and Supreme Court