Supreme Court Legitimacy

Which of the following statements best explains how stare decisis influences Supreme Court justices?

• It makes justices more likely to send cases back down to lower courts to be decided

• It makes justices less likely to strike down laws and policies as unconstitutional

• It makes justices more likely to rule based on their interpretation of the Framers’ original intent

• It makes justices more likely to defer to previous Supreme Court decisions

In United States v. Nixon (1974), the Supreme Court ruled that President Nixon was not exempt from a court order that required him to release White House tapes. It upheld the right of the Court to “say what the law is,” as Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote in the Court’s majority opinion.

Which prior Supreme Court case could be cited as a precedent for the majority decision in United States v. Nixon (1974)?

• Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Baker v. Carr (1962)

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Based on the infographic and your knowledge of the Supreme Court, which of the following statements could be considered an accurate conclusion?

• Ideological changes in the Supreme Court can lead to the Court rejecting existing precedents

• Presidents nominate Supreme Court justices with the hope that those justices will strike down existing precedents

• The Supreme Court never overturns existing precedents for fear of undermining the legitimacy of the Court

• Presidents often seek to maintain ideological balance on the Supreme Court when appointing new justices

Read the passage below and answer the following question.

Chris Wallace: “Mr. Trump, you're pro-life. But I want to ask you specifically: Do you want the court, including the justices that you will name, to overturn Roe v. Wade, which includes -- in fact, states -- a woman's right to abortion?”

Donald Trump: “Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states.

Trump: “Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that will happen. And that'll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination.”

-Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Final Presidential Debate, 2016

Which of the following statements best explains how a president’s ideology can influence presidential nominations to the judiciary?

• Presidents nominate Supreme Court justices who only rule based on the original intentions of the Framers

• Presidents nominate Supreme Court justices who maintain the ideological balance of the Court, rather than changing its ideology

• Presidents nominate Supreme Court justices who are likely to be sympathetic to their views, changing the ideological leanings of the Court

• Presidents nominate Supreme Court justices who have no ideological leanings to maintain the legitimacy of the judicial branch as an independent branch

In United States v. Morrison (2000), the Supreme Court struck down the part of the Violence Against Women Act that made gender-motivated violence a federal crime, as it was not related to the commerce clause.

Which prior Supreme Court case could be used as a precedent for the majority decision in United States v. Morrison (2000)?

• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• United States v. Lopez (1995)

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Roe v. Wade (1973)