Explain the practice and importance of judicial review (10 marks)

Judicial review gives the Supreme Court the power to declare actions of the executive, Congress, or state governments unconstitutional. This power was not original found in the constitution but was first recognised in the case Marbury vs Madison in 1803. Judges in the UK do not have this power as there is no codified constitution and parliament is sovereign. Whereas in the US, the Constitution is the law of the land.

Judicial review allows the Court to check politicians and ensure they are following the constitution. For example, the case United States v Nixon removed presidential privilege from Nixon, forcing him to hand over evidence. Judicial review further protects the rights and liberties of those in the US such as in Grinswold v Connecticut which upheld the right to privacy in terms of contraception. The right to privacy is not explicitly mentioned in the constitution but the Supreme Court make ‘informal amendments’ by interpreting the constitution. This allows the constitution to stay up to date without having to amend it and sees the constitution as a living document.

The…