The Role of the Supreme Court in Policymaking

While the U.S. Supreme Court is extremely powerful, theoretically, it is not able to create law or public policy in the way that Congress or the president does. However, the Supreme Court is able to review public policies or laws that are disputed and determine their constitutionality. Supreme Court justices must determine which cases or disputes to hear and then determine if the laws or policies in such cases are constitutional. If they rule that the laws or policies are unconstitutional, they make recommendations about how the laws or policies should be changed or adapted. In this way, the Supreme Court engages in policymaking.

TO PREPARE:

Consider the history of the Supreme Court and what the court does and does not do.
Review the article “The Supreme Court 2005 Term: Foreword: The Court’s Agenda–and the Nation’s.”
Focus on the role of the Supreme Court in policymaking.
Think about the strengths and limitations of the Supreme Court’s role in policymaking.

WITH THESE THOUGHTS IN MIND:

Provide a brief explanation of the Supreme Court’s role in policymaking, and provide examples. Then, describe two strengths and two limitations of the Supreme Court’s role in policymaking.

Support your response using the Learning Resources and other scholarly resources.

Douglas, D. (2003). Symposium article: The rhetorical uses of Marbury v. Madison: The emergence of a “great case.” Wake Forest Law Review, 38(2), 375. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein….
Schauer, F. (2006). The Supreme Court 2005 term: Foreword: The court’s agenda–and the nation’s. Harvard Law Review, 120(1), 5. Retrieved from http://harvardlawreview.org/2006/11/the-courts-age…

CASES

Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803).
Use the LexisNexis Academic database, and search using the citation number on the Federal & State Cases page of the Legal tab.
Note: A case’s citation number can be found after the name of the case in the case’s full citation (e.g., 5 U.S. 137 is the citation number for the Marbury v. Madison court case in the above citation).

8 hours ago

REQUIREMENTS

Policymaking laws supreme court congress

Answer preview………..

The three arms of government namely the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature play different roles in governance. In the United States, the creation of public policies or laws is the mandate of the Congress and the president. The intervention of the Supreme Court is not explicit in this context, but the institution has a significant influence on the development of policies and laws (Schauer, 2006). In essence, the Supreme Court reviews the laws and public policies to determine whether or not they are in tandem with the Constitution. The court recommends the revisions on the policies and regulations if the justices find that policies or laws are unconstitutional. Policy enactments and bill introductions are affected by the advisory opinions of the justices. This act illustrates the role of the Supreme Court in policymaking……..
APA 723 words