AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES AND THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
The topic examines is "American Civil Liberties and the United States Supreme Court." Recognizing that the ideological composition of the United States Supreme Court, the inner workings of the court, and the interrelationship between the Court, the Congress, and the President affect the impact of the Court on civil liberties in the United States, this paper examines these issues before considering specific political issues involving civil liberties.
The paper then examines three specific issues involving civil liberties. In each instance, the examination of the issue includes, in addition to the actions of the Court, the Supreme Court-Congress-President dichotomy surrounding the issue, and the effects of the issue on both individual rights and states' rights. The three specific issues examined are (1) abortion, (2) limitations on the rights of the individual ù habeas corpus, search and seizure, surveillance, and access to counsel ù in the name of the undeclared "War on Terrorism," and (3) congressional reapportionment and the application of imputation in United States Census outcomes.
The Supreme Court: Ideologies, Functioning, and the Interrelationships with the Legislative and Executive Branches of the Federal Government
Ideological Composition of the United States Supreme Court
With respect to political affiliation, most of the justices of the present Supreme Court are Republican. Ideology, however, divides the court. The ideological composition of the present United States Supreme Court includes polar extremes at each end of the ideological spectrum, with a more moderate center that tends to swing toward one pole or another depending upon the question at issue.
President Nixon (Republican) appointed Chief Justice William Rehnquist to the Supreme Court, and President Reagan (Republican) appointed Rehnquist as Chief Justice by Reagan. President Fo...