Blog 14

1.      Read online bio's of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices. What do you find interesting about their backgrounds? Pick one of the Justices, read about cases this Justice has written (majority or dissent) and explain whether you agree or disagree with his/her judicial philosophy.

I did my research on Samuel Alito. He was the 100^th U.S Justice that received his undergraduate degree at Princeton and earned his law degree at Yale. He clerked for Judge Leonard Garth of the Third District. His was the sole dissent in a 1991 decision overruling a Pennsylvania law which restricted abortion. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court decision (6-3) with O'Connor co-writing the majority opinion with Anthony Kennedy and David Souter.

 

2.      Is Judicial Review a power that should be exercised regularly or sparingly? Why?

Judicial Review is the authority of courts to declare laws passed by Congress and acts of the executive branch to be unconstitutional. I feel that the courts are doing a good job with judicial review, therefore it should be used as it is, regularly. Judicial review has helped to strike down segregated schools in Brown v. Board of Education, as well as the anti-abortion laws of forty-seven states in Roe v. Wade, and to rule on the Michigan affirmative action cases. The Supreme Court also granted itself the power in the case of Marbury v. Madison. It seems that Judicial Review helps the nation, so that Congress does not make laws that are unconstitutional

 

3.      Is it the job of the High Court to apply the Constitution in light of the intent of the framers of the Constitution (strict construction) or should they interpret the Constitution in light of changes in society/technology (living Constitution)? Why?

I do feel that times have changed since the framers were around, so the living Constitution may be better, because it would reflect a time of changes in society and technology. Most of everything has changed since the framers wrote the constitution. I don’t think the constitution needs to be redone, but rather added to.