Judicial Activism and Judicial Restraint

What is the role of the judicial branch?

• to make laws

• to enforce laws

• to interpret laws

• to impeach a president

What is judicial activism?

• the belief that justices should narrowly interpret the Constitution and defer decision making power to elected officials

• the power a court has to hear legal cases and make legal decisions regarding those cases

• the judicial branch's power to nullify governmental acts that violate the Constitution

• the belief that justices should defend rights an liberties even if they're not explicitly stated in the Constitution

Idea that the Supreme Court has the ability to determine if the actions of government or government officials is constitutional

• judicial review

• judicial restraint

• judicial activism

• precedent

Which of the following statements best explains how judicial activism influences decisions made by individual justices when deciding cases heard by the Court?

• Justices are influenced by the social effects the decision might have on the public

• Justices are more likely to defer to previous Supreme Court decisions

• Justices are influenced by the public opinion on a case rather than constitutional interpretation

• Justices are less likely to strike down laws and policies as unconstitutional

The Supreme Court ruled in Baker v. Carr (1962) the idea of "one person, one vote" because:

• Citizens found a loophole and were able to case multiple ballots in an election, giving advantage to the candidate who's voters showed up the most.

• Representatives were voting for every member of their constituency, which took too much time.

• Non-citizens were able to show up and vote in elections.

• Representatives were not redistricting their states even after Census results showed a shift in population from rural to urban areas.

Judicial philosophy in which justices create and influence law from the bench

• judicial review

• judicial activism

• judicial restraint

• constitutional interpretation

The reluctance to interpret the law and to hesitate to overturn existing precedent unless it is obviously unconstitutional is called what?

• judicial restraint

• constitutional interpretation

• judicial review

• judicial activism

The practice of interpreting the Constitution in light of the norms and values of present day society is referred to as

• judicial restraint

• jurist prudence

• judicial activism

• appellate jurisdiction

Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect what the framers intended and what its words literally say.

• judicial activism

• precedent

• judicial restraint

• original juridiction