The court case of Roe v. Wade, which established a woman's right to access abortion, has been a highly alienating issue in the United States since its decision in 1973. Supporters argue that access to safe and legal abortion is a fundamental right of women to control and make decisions about their reproductive health. While opposers argue that abortion is morally unethical and that the government should limit or completely ban it. This political disagreement showed itself in the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision, in which the court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade. Similarly, how the original ruling of Roe v. Wade changed the nation's future during its decision in 1973, the overruling will change the nation's future once again. …show more content…
Six of the nine justices are conservative, making the Supreme Court a conservative majority. Historically, this is the first term with a six-justice conservative majority (Senate RPC). This significant difference in political identification within the Supreme Court hinders proper decision-making on court cases because politically biased justices make the Supreme Court of the United States partisan. Justices are thought to be insulated from political pressure when deciding cases (The White House). Justices should interpret the law based on legal precedent and the Constitution rather than personal political biases. When justices make decisions based on their political affiliations or ideologies, it can call into question the impartiality and fairness of the Supreme Court. Politically biased decisions can have significant consequences, as the Supreme Court is responsible for interpreting the law and ensuring justice for all Americans. A national survey conducted by Pew Research asked American citizens if the justices should bring or not bring their political views into their decisions, in which 84% of American citizens responded that the justices should not bring their political views into decision making (Pew Research). Suppose the Supreme Court continues to remain politically biased as a conservative majority. In that case, it can lead to a loss of trust in the institution and its …show more content…
Wade, many Americans are losing trust in the Supreme Court and want to limit the power of the Supreme Court to tackle the Supreme Court's crisis of legitimacy. However, limiting the power of the Supreme Court of the United States is not an effective solution to solve the issues of political bias among the justices. The power of the Supreme Court is derived from the Constitution with enumerated powers, which grants authority to interpret the law and serve as a check to the other branches of government (The White House). Attempting to limit the Court's power would require a constitutional amendment like with other branches of government, which is a complicated and lengthy process that requires a proposition of two-thirds majority vote of the House of Representatives and must be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures. Instead of limiting the power of the Supreme Court, it would be more effective to focus on improving the process of nominating and confirming justices. Ensuring that nominees have a background of true impartiality and commitment to interpreting the law based on legal and constitutional precedent can help to reduce political biases on the Supreme Court. Additionally, increasing transparency in the Court's decision-making process can help to maintain the public's trust in the institution because 53% of Americans already have little or no trust in the United States Supreme Court to operate in the best interest of
In order to uphold the constitution, the Supreme Court must always aim to balance power among the branches of government and not overstep boundaries in exercising its own power. For this reason, the debate over handling political questions in the courtroom
The concerns that Senators have about federal appeals court nominees is unjust and unneeded. The only people in the court system who have the ability to overturn laws of legislation and policy are Supreme Court Judges, so it is wrong to subject appeals court nominees to strict ideological tests that the Justices are given. The Justices are the only people who can overturn or rule things unconstitutional, whether it is from cases, executive orders, or when the bureaucracy overstep its’ bounds. It does not matter what an appeals court nominees personal opinion is on a case, because he or she will be following the precedent already set up by the Supreme Court. It does not matter what the nominees opinion is on Roe v. Wade, because as an appellate
This keeps the legislative and judicial branches of government under checks because it allows the president to stop anything unjust from happening; they can also choose who not to nominate as a judge if that nominee doesn't fit the executive branch's
In America, judges have become too politicised . The government in power for example could be republican. They might appoint a judge who aligns with their political view and policy, causing that judge to interpret the constitution in such a way that allows the government to get away with something or may change rulings on a right. An example of this polarisation is the famous Bush v Gore case in 2000. In this case, a recount of votes in counties in Florida had not been undertaken, as was required due to the low majority.
Upon the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal justice, McConnell saw an opportunity to put in another conservative justice, even though it was closer to the election. This hypocrisy from the Republican party is a political move for them to gain more power across the government. The Constitution does not state the number of SCOTUS justices there can be. If the President wanted, he could nominate dozens of liberal justices and have most of the Senate confirm them so that their political party could be benefited. SCOTUS was never meant to be politicized, and if it continues to be, this will create massive swings on what the law is for our country.
An economic crisis demanded national solutions, and the Government in Washington grew fast to meet these new demands. Fundamental changes in the political landscape affecting Supreme Court appointments. There has been ten critical developments in American politics, which was the growth and bureaucratization of the Justice Department and of the White House. Also paralleling the increased role for national political institutions in American life has been growth in size and influence of federal courts, diving party government, the confirmation process had become increasingly public, the rise in power of the organized bar, increased participation by interest groups, increased media attention, advances in legal research technology and finally, the more visible role the Supreme Court has assumed in American political life has increased the perceived stakes of the nomination process for everyone that was involved.
Public Trust in the Supreme Court 50 Hence, even the judges in courts can be biased to circumstances as well. In fact, the Florida Supreme Court Standing Committee on Fairness and Diversity (n.d.) contends that bias cannot be prohibited especially in the realm of politics.
The United States Supreme Court is not transparent to the citizens in this country and they fail to publicly reveal reasoning’s to their decisions that they have made. The courts non-transparency make people wonder and uncomfortable for congress has to openly show how they voted one bills Jeffrey L. Fisher razes this type of questions in his article “The Supreme Court’s Secret Power” in The New York Times he raises concern for the Supreme Court and the justice; claiming that they have become too powerful and the people of this country deserve to see how each justice vote due we entrusted them I the position and we deserve to know if they are in good favor.
According to a poll conducted by Gallup, in just the past two decades, the percentage of people who approve of the way the Supreme Court conducts its job has declined from 62% to 40% (Supreme Court). The percentage of people who disapprove has increased from 29% to 58%. It is clear that many Americans today do not approve of the Supreme Court and its Justices. The changes in these percentages can be attributed to the widespread concern that Justices are not impartial. However, it is a fact that bias is within all of us, and we can not only blame the Justices.
Imagine if you were a father or husband and your wife went into labor or came for a doctor's appointment and you were told your wife and baby were high risks and could die if you went through with having the baby. It would be a shattering reality that would leave you with pending feelings of anxiety, but because of Roe v. “Wade you and your family have stayed in the reality that your wife could die along with your child, which doesn’t seem fair or
Various methods for judicial selection exist: appointment with life tenure, appointment with term limits, direct election, or some combination of the aforementioned. The controversy surrounding judicial selection asks which method is best for American citizens—what is the most fair, equitable, and democratic way to choose who applies the law? The Constitution, at its conception, was created to be independent of political influences and the other branches of government, with “Federalist Paper 78” first defending the need of an independent judiciary to maintain and protect fundamental laws. Judges being an elected position raises the concern of whether the judges are more accountable to the Constitution, or to their voters. For this reason,
Alex Frost Values: Law & Society 9/23/2014 The Hollow Hope Introduction and Chapter 1 Gerald Rosenberg begins his book by posing the questions he will attempt to answer for the reader throughout the rest of the text: Under what conditions do courts produce political and social change? And how effective have the courts been in producing social change under such past decisions as Roe v. Wade and Brown v. Board of Education? He then works to define some of the principles and view points 'currently' held about the US Supreme court system.
The Right to Abortion On January 22, 1973, in a 7-2 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down it’s landmark decision in the case of Roe v. Wade, which recognized that the constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions — including the decision to have an abortion without interference from politicians (Planned Parenthood). There are many moments in history when Roe v. Wade has been so close to being overturned, yet it is still in place. Abortion should stay legal, or not overturned, for the health of women everywhere. First, this important case took place at the time of abortion being illegal in most states, including Texas, where Roe v. Wade began.
Before Roe v. wade the number of deaths from illegal abortions was around 5000 and in the 50s and 60s the number of illegal abortions ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. These illegal abortions pose major health risks to the life of the woman including damage to the bladder, intestines as well as rupturing of the uterus. The choice to become a mother must be given to the woman most importantly because it’s her body, her health, and she will be taking on a great responsibility. A woman’s choice to choose abortion should not be restricted by anyone; there are multiple reasons why abortion will be the more sensible decision for the female.
Judicial selection is an intriguing topic as there are multiple ways that judges take their seat on the bench. The United States Constitution spells out how federal judges are selected and leaves it up to the individual states to establish their means for selecting judges. In federal courts, judges are appointed and it varies between appointment and election for state courts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences between appointments and elections (as well as the multiple types of elections) and to give an opinion as to which is the better alternative. Federal judges are appointed by the President of the United States and are confirmed on the advice and consent of the United States Senate.