Article III: The Judicial Branch

What did Justice Marshall decide in the case of Marbury v. Madison?

• He decided that Marbury had a right to his commission.

• He established the principle of judicial review.

• He ruled that the Supreme Court could not force Madison to deliver the commission.

• He declared the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional.

What is judicial review?

• A process by which legislative acts are reviewed by the judiciary

• A method of reviewing executive orders

• A way to amend the constitution

• A procedure for electing judges

Which act did Congress pass in 1789 that created the federal court system as we know it today?

• Judiciary Act of 1789

• Constitution Act of 1789

• Federal Court Act of 1789

• Supreme Court Act of 1789

Explain the concept of judicial restraint.

The principle called stare decisis means "let in stand" in Latin. This is associated with:

• Judicial precedent

• Legislative process

• Executive orders

• Constitutional amendments

Match the following terms

• the principle of limiting judicial power

• 6th Amendment

• right to a trial by jury in a civil case

• Writ of mandamus

• an order to a lower court to perform a specific act

• judicial restraint

• the act of judges making bold policy decisions

• judicial activism

• Right to a speedy criminal trial

• 7th Amendment

What is the order of events in which Homer Plessy's case reached the Supreme Court?

• On May 18, 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Plessy in a 7-1 decision, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine

• After Judge Ferguson upheld the law, Plessy's legal team appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which also upheld the decision

• Plessy was brought before Judge John H. Ferguson in the Criminal Court of New Orleans, where he argued that the segregation law violated the 13th and 14th Amendments. Plessy was found guilty of violating the Separate Car Act and spent a day in jail.

• On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy was arrested for sitting in a "whites-only" car on a train in New Orleans, violating Louisiana's Separate Car Act

• Plessy's legal team then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, arguing that the segregation law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment

Explain the concept of judicial activism.

How is the case of Brown vs. Board of Education an example of judicial activism?

How is the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) an example of judicial restraint?