The US Judiciary

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  • Created by: T Colby
  • Created on: 12-04-17 21:57
What does the acronym SCOTUS stand for?
Supreme Court of the United States
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Where is SCOTUS located?
Northwest Corner of Capitol Hill
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What is SCOTUS's chief function?
USA's highest law court; defender of laws, the Constitution and the rights and liberties of US citizens.
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What is SCOTUS's chief membership?
9 SCOTUS Justices (1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices).
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What is the structure of the Federal Courts?
United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) (State Supreme Court), United States Court of Appeals and then the United States District Courts
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What does the the United States Court of Appeals consist of?
1 court in each 11 circuits (regions), 1 in Washington D.C. and 1 federal circuit court.
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What does the United States District Courts consist of?
1 court in each of 94 districts.
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How does SCOTUS decide what cases to hear?
SCOTUS only hears the cases that it wants to hear. It rejects over 96% of cases that seek to be heard. It hears only these cases that it believes are of major constitutional significance.
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How are the SCOTUS Justices selected?
They are nominated by POTUS and confirmed by a simple majority vote in the Senate.
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What term do SCOTUS Justices serve?
They hold office for life "during good behaviour" as Article III, Section I of the Constitution states.
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What is the only way that SCOTUS Justices can be removed?
Justices can only be removed through the impeachment process.
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How many Justices have been impeached?
None but Associate Justice Abe Fortas resigned in 1968 rather than face impeachment.
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What are the only other ways to leave SCOTUS as a Justice barring impeachment?
Resignation or death.
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What is so special about the Chief Justice?
He sits in the middle, sets the tone of SCOTUS, they are rarely changed and the era in which they hold office is termed after their name.
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Who is the current Chief Justice?
Chief Justice John Roberts.
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How many Chief Justices have there been in 211 years including Roberts?
16
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Give some examples of SCOTUS being named after the Chief Justice of different eras.
The 'Warren Court' was named after Earl Warren (1953-69) and the 'Burger Court' was named after Warren Earl Burger (1969-86).
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What is the name of the current SCOTUS?
'Roberts Court'
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What is Judicial Review?
The power of SCOTUS to declare acts of Congress, actions of the Executive or acts or actions of state governments to be unconstitutional and therefore null and void.
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What did the Founding Fathers technically not give SCOTUS when founding the Constitution?
Technically did not give SCOTUS the power of Judicial Review in the Constitution.
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When did the power of SCOTUS to declare something as 'unconstitutional' come about?
The power of SCOTUS to declare something 'unconstitutional' developed in 1803 in the case of Marbury v. Madison.
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Define Judicial Activism.
SCOTUS in this period feels it should be equal to the other two branches of government in terms of the legislative process. During the 1980s, the Court declared 16 federal and 161 state laws unconstitutional.
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Define Judicial Restraint.
SCOTUS in this period feels it should be deferent to the other two branches of government and tend to restrict their power of Judicial Review. In the 1940s, the Court only declared 2 federal laws and 58 state laws to be unconstitutional.
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What is meant by Interpretative Amendments?
In carrying out the process of Judicial Review, SCOTUS can, in effect, update the meaning of the Constitution.
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Give an example of SCOTUS using Judicial Review to update the meaning of the Constitution.
E.g. the Court will decide what the meaning of the phrase 'cruel and unusual punishments' means today.
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What constroversial issues will SCOTUS interpret?
Capital punishment, abortion, racial minorities, gun control and freedom of speech.
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What did former Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes state?
"We are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the Judges say it is."
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Why is SCOTUS the champion of the people?
SCOTUS acts as the guarantor of American civil rights and liberties because of its powers of Judicial Review and Interpretative Amendments.
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Define civil rights.
Rights designed to protect people against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by the government or individuals.
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Define civil liberties.
Those liberties, mostly spelt out in the Constitution, that guarantee the protection of persons, expression and property from arbitrary interference from government.
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Define Quasi Legislative Body.
SCOTUS has passed down some landmark judgements which have almost the same effect as a law having been passed by Congress. Some say that SCOTUS is 'a third house of the legislature'.
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What is an example of SCOTUS being like 'a third house of the legislature'.
E.g. In 1973, Roe v. Wade, the Court stated that a woman had a constitutional right to an abortion, the effect was comparable to Congress passing an abortion law.
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What did SCOTUS decide in the case of Furman v. Georgia (1972)?
The death penalty, as it was then imposed, was a 'cruel and unusual punishment' and thereby violated the 8th Amendment.
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How did SCOTUS make its decision in Furman v. Georgia (1972)?
Based on the methods used for executing convicted criminals and the arbitrary and unfair way in which, the Court believed, the punishment was handed down.
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What were the consequences of the Furman v. Georgia (1972) case?
Included the more widespread use of lethal injection and of the two-stage trial. The latter was meant to try to reverse the trend by which the death penalty was more likely to be given to poor members of racial minorities than to more wealthy whites.
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What happens in the second stage of a trial?
Mitigating circumstances are considered before the sentence is decided.
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What did the Court decide in Atkins v. Virginia (2002)?
The execution of mentally retarded criminals infringed the 8th Amendment ban on 'cruel and unusual punishments'. Of the 38 states permitting capital punishments in 2002, 20 of them including Virginia still allowed the execution of these people.
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Give some reasons for why SCOTUS has too much power.
Broad scope of Court jurisdication, unelected Justices/Judges, illegitimate usurpations of power, public office holders are self-interested, 'rights' introduced from ideological commitments and 'liberty' used to extend Court's power.
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Give some reasons for why SCOTUS has just the right amount of power.
Other 2 branches of government somewhat determine Court's power, Court has made unpopular decisions rather than increasing power and checks and balances from other 2 branches e.g. President nominates Justices and Congress confirms appointments.
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Give an example of an illegitimate usurpation of power.
Roe v. Wade
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What are the 3 main problems with the appointment and confirmation process?
Politicisation by the President, politicisation by the Senate and a media feeding frenzy.
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What kind of Justices is the President likely to choose?
Presidents likely to choose Justices who are politically aligned with their political party.
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Give some examples of Presidents nominating Justices who are politicaly aligned with their political party.
E.g. Obama appointed liberal Justices such as Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagen. Moreover, W. Bush appointed Samuel Alito and John Roberts.
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Discuss politicisation by the Senate as a problem with the confirmation process.
Senate confirms Justices by a simple majority of 51-49 kind of principle. If Republicans don't approve of a Democrat aligned appointed Justice, they reject them.
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Discuss a media feeding frenzy as a problem with the confirmation process.
The press competed with each other to come up with the most lurid sexual details of Justice Clarence Thomas's past rather than have any serious debate on his suitability for the role.
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What did Justice Clarence Thomas supposedely do as a sexual offence?
He handed a can of soda to Anita Hill with a pubic hair on it and talked of his sexual prowess and recommended **** videos.
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How did Justice Clarence Thomas respond to the allegations put against him?
When attacked he said he was being victimised for being an African-American acting on his own behalf.
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Who did President W. Bush appoint to SCOTUS?
Harriet Miers (2005), Samuel Alito (2006) and John Roberts (2005).
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Was Harriet Miers's nomination controversial?
Very controversial as Bush was accused of cronyism. Moreover, the far-right in the Senate thought she wasn't qualified as a Republican aligned Justice due to her centrist/liberal leaning past. She withdrew and didn't recieve an ABA rating.
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Was Justice Samuel Alito's appointment controversial?
Fairly controversial as his nomination was opposed by some Democrats as he was viewed as too right-wing despite being a member of a democratic organisation at university. Democrats controlled the Senate at the time and John Kerry opposed him.
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Was Justice John Robert's appointment controversial?
Not very controvsersial as he recieved a 'well qualified' ABA rating in a Democratic controlled Senate.
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Who did President Obama appoint to SCOTUS?
Sonia Sotomayor (2009) and Elena Kagen (2010).
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Was Justice Sotomayor's appointment controversial?
Somewhat controversial as Republican Senators opposed her as she was more left-wing in her speeches and activity outside of the Court room where she was more centrist. Confusion over her true political alignment.
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Was Justice Kagen's appointment controversial?
Not very controversial as she recieved a 'well qualified' ABA rating.
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Why did Harriet Miers withdraw from her nomination to SCOTUS?
She was attacked by right-leaning activists who challenged the depth of her conservative credentials and the strength of her judicial qualifications and after a subsequent phone call between Miers and President W. Bush.
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How many of the 14 nominated Justices to SCOTUS have withdrawn since 1986?
2
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How many Justices did President Reagan nominate to SCOTUS from 1986-88?
5
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What were the results of Reagan's 5 nominations?
3 confirmed, 1 rejected and 1 withdrawn.
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Who were the 3 confirmed Justices of Reagan's appointment?
Willian Rehnquist (1986) confirmed 65-33, Antonin Scalia (1986) confirmed 98-0 and Anthony Kennedy (1988) confirmed 97-0.
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Who was the rejected Reagan Justice appointment?
Robert Bork (1987) rejected 42-58.
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Who was the withdrawn Reagan Justice appointment?
Douglas Ginsburg (1987)
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How many Justices did President George H.W. Bush appoint to SCOTUS from 1990-91?
2
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What were the results of H.W. Bush 2 appointments to SCOTUS?
Both confirmed (David Souter 1990 90-9 and Clarence Thomas 1991 52-48).
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How many Justices did President Bill Clinton appoint to SCOTUS?
2
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What were the results of Clinton's 2 appointments?
Both confirmed (Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1993 96-3 and Stephen Breyer 1994 87-9).
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How many appointments did President George W. Bush appoint to SCOTUS?
3
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What were the results of W. Bush's 3 appointments?
2 confirmed and 1 withdrawn (John Roberts 2005 78-22, Harriet Miers 2005 withdrawn and Samuel Alito 2006 58-42).
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How many appointments did President Obama make to SCOTUS?
2
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What were the results of President Obama's 2 appointments?
Both confirmed (Sonia Sotomayor 2009 68-31 and Elena Kagen 2010 63-37).
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How many SCOTUS nominations have been withdrawn since the founding of the Constitution and SCOTUS?
14 withdrawn
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How many SCOTUS appointments have been rejected since the founding of the Constitution and SCOTUS?
12 rejected
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What was at stake for SCOTUS during the 2016 US Presidential Election?
A Hillary victory could lead to: women's rights, LGBT rights. A Trump victory: upheld II Amendment. Trump is pro-life. Clinton was pro-abortion. Clinton supported gay marriage. Trump wanted immigration reform. Clinton opposed Citizens United.
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Who did President Obama nominate to SCOTUS at the end of his presidency who wasn't confirmed due to the Republican controlled Congress?
Merrick Garland
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What factors affect the success of a SCOTUS nomination?
Divided/undivided government, political party's dominance of Congress, pressure groups, career/background, views of nominee and the media.
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Discuss the media in affecting the success of a SCOTUS nomination.
Media response e.g. negatively to Clarence Thomas.
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Discuss the views of the nominee in affecting the success of their SCOTUS nomination.
Can be noted by the media, pressure groups and consequently the Senate resulting in their confirmation or not.
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Discuss pressure groups in affecting the success of a SCOTUS nomination.
Pressure groups can support or oppose a nominee. E.g. Robert Bork was opposed by the pressure group 'People for the American Way' who ran televised campaigns.
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Discuss the Senate in affecting the succes of a SCOTUS nomination.
Successful if Senate is composed of the aligned political party. Moreover, Senate may be composed of majority party opposing the presidency thus opposing the nominee etc.
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What other factor can affect the success of a nominee in the process of appointment in the Senate?
The ABA (American Bar Association) rating given to an appointment.
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What are the 3 possible ABA ratings an appointee can attain?
'Well qualified', 'qualified' and 'not qualified'; nearly all successful appointments get a 'well qualified' ABA rating.
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Why are SCOTUS appointments so important to POTUS?
Justices are 1 out of 9 and so important as a chunk of the whole, President is a singular executive and therefore has limited power and so can extend their power in SCOTUS via appointments, life appointments, echo chamber ...
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echo chamber (i.e. POTUS can maintain their power through their political views in SCOTUS via their appointments after their terms in office), Interpretative Amendments and protection of Civil Rights and Liberties.
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Why might SCOTUS appointments not be the most important appointments that POTUS makes?
Long periods of time between appointments (on average every 2 years), Cabinet officers last as long as POTUS's term, Judicial Review countering POTUS's power and only 15 Heads of Cabinet Departments.
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What is the proper SCOTUS Justices appointment process?
Vacancy must occur, POTUS searches for a nominee, FBI background checks nominees, POTUS personally interviews 2-3 finalists, POTUS makes a formal announcement and then identity of nominees leaked to the media, nominees given an ABA rating, ...
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nominee appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee and are criticised to see if they want to withdraw, committee votes on whether or not to recommend further action and then Senate either confirms or rejects nominee.
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What was Robert Bork's Senate Judiciary Committee vote result?
5-9; subsequently rejected by the Senate vote 42-58.
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What was Clarence Thomas's Senate Judiciary Committee vote result?
7-7; subsequently confirmed by the Senate vote 52-48.
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What was Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Senate Judiciary Committee vote result?
18-0; subsequently confirmed by the Senate vote 96-3.
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What was John Robert's Senate Judiciary Committee vote result?
13-5; subsequently confirmed by the Senate vote 78-22.
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What was Elena Kagen's Senate Judiciary Committee vote result?
13-6; subsequently confirmed by the Senate vote 63-37
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Out of the above stated nominees, whom recieved only a 'qualified' ABA rating?
Clarence Thomas; all other recieved 'Well qualified'.
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Who did President Trump nominate to SCOTUS to replace Associate Justice Antonin Scalia who died in 2016.
Neil Gorsuch
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What political aligned majority did Gorsuch restore to SCOTUS?
Conservative majority by 5-4.
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How many candidates were shortlisted from Trump's SCOTUS nomination?
21
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What are Gorsuch's general views?
Opposed to abortion, opposed to birth control, supports gun rights and supports euthanasia.
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What was the final Senate vote confirming Neil Gorsuch?
54-45.
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What 3 things meant that Garland's appointment was unlikely?
Dividid Congress/Senate, state elections were coming up at the time which were unpredictable and there was the propect of Trump becoming President which he did.
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Name all of the current 9 Justices of SCOTUS.
Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justices: Neil Gorsuch, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagen, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy.
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Who are the conservative Justices of these?
John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Anthony Kennedy.
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Who are the liberal Justices of these?
Elena Kagen, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.
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What are the 4 philsophies that SCOTUS Justices can adopt?
Loose Constructionist, Strict Constructionist, Judicial Restraint or Deference (respect) and Judicial Activism.
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Discuss Loose Constructionism.
A Justice who interprets the Constitution in a loose or liberal fashion. They make judgements about the words of the Constitution according to what they think the Founding Fathers would have approved of and favour Federal over state governments.
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Discuss Strict Constructionism.
A Justice who interprets the Constitution in a strict literal or conservative fashion. They focus on the text of the Constitution upholding the intentions of the Founding Fathers. They favour state governments over the Federal Government.
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Discuss Judicial Restraint or Deference (respect).
Inclined to continue what has gone before (stare decisis 'to stand by that which is decided'), deferential to other 2 governmental branches as they're accountable to the electorate, unlikely to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.
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Discuss Judicial Activism.
Sees Court as leading reform of US society, equal policy making body with other 2 governmental branches, active in scrutinising other 2 branches if they're are opposing the Founding Fathers, likely to declare congressional acts unconstitutional.
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What SCOTUS case contributed to the ending of racial segregation, especially in the US education system?
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka or just Board of Education (1954)
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How many of North Carolina's African-Americans could attend integrated schools?
Just 40 out of 300,000.
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How did this change after Brown v. Board of Education?
10 years after the case in 1964 just 1 in 85 Southern black children attended an integrated school.
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What were the general views of SCOTUS when the case was put to it?
SCOTUS held strong conservative views with little history of progressive rulings.
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What threats did African-Americans who wanted to integrate and file SCOTUS cases face?
Faced threats of terrorism by the Ku Klux Klan and nobody filed a case seeking to integrate a Mississippi grace school until 1963.
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How many US school districts complied with the Brown Court ruling by 1964 as a percentage?
90%
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What were the Jim Crow Laws?
State and local laws in the Southern United States enforcing racial segregation in the South which lasted until 1965.
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For how long did racial segregation last in the South after the Brown Court ruling?
Up to 10 years
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What was a big step in stopping Southern states' schools from avoiding abiding by the unconstitutional declaration of segregation?
The Civil Rights Act (1964) enabled federal officials to withhold funding from segregated schools. This allowed the Federal Government to adapt more quickly to Southern attempts to thwart integration than the courts could have ever accomplished.
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How many school districts had had their federal funds terminated by the administration by the end of 1966?
32 school districts.
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How about when President Johnson had left office?
The Federal Government had begun proceedings against 634 school districts and terminated funding for more than 120 of them.
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What percentage of African-Americans were attending integrated schools by 1973?
As many as 90%
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What is a ruling more appropriately called?
Holding
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What was the holding of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
Separate schools are not equal
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What is the history of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), SCOTUS sanctioned segregation by upholding the doctrine of "separate but equal." The NAACP disagreed challenging the segregation of the Topeka, Kansas, school system.
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Thus, what did the holding of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) reverse?
SCOTUS reversed its Plessy v. Ferguson decision declaring that "separate schools are inherently unequal."
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did Brown v. Board of Education (1954) recieve?
Judicial Activism because SCOTUS reformed US society and played a key role in policy making like the other 2 governmental branches.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) recieve?
Judicial Activism again because SCOTUS reformed US society and played a role in policy making like the other 2 governmental branches.
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What was the holding of Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)?
Colleges and universities have a legitimate interest in promoting diversity.
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What was the history of Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)?
Barbara Grutter alleged that her Equal Protection rights were violated when the University of Michigan Law School's attempt to gain a diverse student body resulted in the denial of her admission's application. SCOTUS disagreed.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did United States v. Windsor, 2013 (5-4 decision) recieve?
Loose Constructionism because the holding didn't overly reform US society but rather had a liberal interpretation of the Constitution in spirit with the Founding Fathers.
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What was the history of United States v. Windsor, 2013 (5-4 decision)?
Federal government must provide benefits to legally married same-sex couples.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did Engel v. Vitale (1962) recieve?
Judicial Activism because the holding reformed all of US society and showed SCOTUS's role in policy making.
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What was the holding of Engel v. Vitale (1962)?
School iniated-prayer in the public school system violates the I Amendment.
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What was the history of Engel v. Vitale (1962)?
In the NY school system, each day began with a nondenominational prayer acknowledging dependence upon God. The was challenged in Court as an unconstitutional state establishment of religion violating the I Amendment. SCOTUS agreed.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did Roe v. Wade (7-2 decision) recieve?
Loose Constructionism because SCOTUS interpreted the Constitution as they believed the Founding Fathers would have wanted and intended.
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What was the holding and history of Roe v. Wade (7-2 decision)?
Women have a consitutional right to an abortion during the first two trimesters.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) (5-4 decision) recieve?
Strict Constructionism because SCOTUS interpreted the Constitution as it was written upholding the II Amendment.
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What was the holding and history of District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) (5-4 decision)?
Citizens have a right to possess firearms at home for self-defense.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did Shelby County v. Holder (2013) (5-4 decision) recieve?
Strict Constructionism because it ensured the states maintained their sovereignty in line with the Constitution.
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What was the holding and history of Shelby County v. Holder (2013) (5-4 decision)?
States and localities do not need federal approval to change voting laws.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did Lawrence v. Texas (2003) (6-3 decision) recieve?
Loose Constructionism because it coincides with the Constitution without too much reform of US society.
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What was the holding and history of Lawrence v. Texas (2003) (6-3 decision)?
Struck down state laws that prohibited ****** between consenting adults.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) (5-4 decision) recieve?
Judicial Activism because it greatly reformed US society and showed SCOTUS's role in policy making.
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What was the holding and history of Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) (5-4 decision)?
Same-sex marriage is legalised across all 50 states.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012) (5-4 decision) recieve?
Loose Constructionism because it was a somewhat liberal interpretation of the Constitution.
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What was the holding and history of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012) (5-4 decision)?
Upheld the mandate that most Americans have health insurance. This was in support of ObamaCare.
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Considering the 4 philosophies adopted by SCOTUS Justices, what philosophical holding did Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) recieve?
Strict Constructionism because it turned to more conservative views of abortion.
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What was the holding and history of Gonzeles v. Carhart (2007)?
SCOTUS held in a 5-4 decision that the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act passed by the US Congress was constitutional. Although the Court previously ruled in Stenberg v. Carhart (2000) that a Nebraska law that ...
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prohibited partial-birth abortions was unconstitutional, Gonzales created the precedent that anyone who delivers and kills a living fetus could be subject to legal consequences, unless he or she performed the procedure to save the life of the mother.
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Define Partial-birth abortion.
Partial birth abortion, or IDX, is performed to end a pregnancy in the mid to late second trimester.
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What are the famous cases heard by the Robert's Court?
Hamden v. Rumsfeld (2006) (5-3), Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) (5-4), Baze v. Rees (2008) (2-7), District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) (5-4), Boumediene v. Bush (2008) (5-4), United States v. Windsor (2013) (5-4), Shelby County v. Holder (2013) (5-4)...
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Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) (5-4) and National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012) (5-4)
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What was the outcome of Baze v. Rees (2008) (2-7)?
Upheld the constitutionality of a particular method of lethal injection used for capital punishment.
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What was the holding of Hamden v. Rumsfeld (2006) 5-3?
Held military commissions set out by the W. Bush administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay was unconstitutional due to detainee treatment.
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Give some reasons for why SCOTUS effectively protects American civil rights and liberties.
Reno v. ACLU and political makeup of the Court aligned with liberalism.
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Give some reasons for why SCOTUS doesn't effectively protects American civil rights and liberties.
2001 Patriot Act arguably infringed I, IV, V, VI and VIII amendments, conservative views of Justices.
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What was the 2001 Patriot Act?
Introduced by President W. Bush in 2001 and the acronym stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act.
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What do critics say about the Patriot Act?
Allows the Federal Government to conduct surveillance on US citizens, allows FBI to search telephone, e-mail and financial records without a court order, allows government to add DNA samples to databases, more difficult to make government accountable
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, the police can enter private property without the permission or knowledge of the owner and it allows the Justice Department to develop additional legislation with little input from Congress.
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What is the date collection due to the Patriot Act known as?
Bulk data collection
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Give some further reasons why SCOTUS does protect US rights and liberties.
Ideologically liberal/loose constructionist/activist court eras and Justices, protecting minority groups and individuals against the government, protecting rights enshrined in the Constitution, I, II, IV, VIII and XIV amendments.
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Give some further reasons for why SCOTUS doesn't protect US rights and liberties.
Ideologically conservative/strict constructionist/restraint court eras and Justices.
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Give an example of an ideologically liberal/loose constructionist/activist court era and a case the Court dealt with.
The Warren Court (1953-69) dealt with Brown v. Board of Education (1954) regarding segregation.
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Who was the ideologically liberal/loose constructionist/activist Justice by the surname Warren?
Earl Warren.
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Give another example of such a Court era and a case it dealt with of liberal nature.
Burger Court (1969-86) dealt with Furman v. Georgia (1972) regarding the death penalty.
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Name the Justice with the surname Burger.
Justice Warren Burger
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Name 4 liberal Justices.
Charles Breyer, Ruth Ginsburg, John Stevens and David Souter
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What are the rights enshrined in the Constitution?
Religion (I Amendment), speech (I Amendment), bear arms (II Amendment), unreasonable searches (IV Amendment), capital punishment (VIII Amendment), racial minorities (I Amendment) and abortion (XIV Amendment).
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Give an example of an ideologically conservtive/strict constructionalist and restraint court era and a case it dealt with.
Rehnquist Court (1986-05) dealt with Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989) regarding the upholding of Missouri Law banning staff involved in abortion unless the mother's life is in danger.
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Name some conservative Justices.
Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, William Rehnquist, Samuel Alito and John Roberts.
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Give some further reasons for why SCOTUS protrects the rights and liberties of US citizens.
Warren Court (1953-69), Burger Court (1969-86) and libersal justices when they are in the majority.
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Give some reasons for why SCOTUS doesn't protect rights and liberties.
Rehnquist Court (1986-2005), Roberts Court (2005), conservative Justices when they are in the majority, Supreme Court rejects lots of cases a certiorari, SCOTUS cannot initiate cases, Patriot Act, SCOTUS cannot enforce its rulings has to rely on ...
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the Executive branch to do this and inevitably SCOTUS's decisions will violate some rights and liberties.
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What 3 other institutions protect American rights and liberties?
Congress, POTUS and pressure groups.
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How does Congress effectively protect American rights and liberties?
Gun free zones since 1990, Communications Decency Act 1996 and Partial Birth Ban Act 2003.
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How does POTUS effectively protect American rights and liberties?
President Johnson introduced to Congress the idea of the Voting Right Act. Eisenhower eventually enforced the Court ruling of Johnson.
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How do pressure groups effectively protect American rights and li
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) effective protection by monitoring and protecting citizens rights like the National Rifle Association (NRA) on the II Amendment.
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How does Congress ineffectively protect American rights and
US v. Lopez 1995, Reno v. ACLU 1996
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How does POTUS ineffectively protect American rights and liberties?
Eisenhower had a delayed reaction, Guantanamo Bay is still open, Obama extended the Patriot Act which W. Bush introduced.
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How do pressure groups ineffectively protect American rights and liberties?
Pressure groups are opinion based e.g. the NRA and People for the American Way.
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State 2 SCOTUS cases regarding freedom of religion.
Engel v. Vitale (1961) 6-1, Allegheny County v. American Civil Liberties Union (1989).
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State 2 SCOTUS cases regarding freedom of speech, expression and the press.
Texas v. Johnson (1989) 5-4, Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1996) 7-2.
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State 2 SCOTUS cases regarding freedom to 'bear arms'.
United States v. Lopez (1995) 5-4, Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1996) 7-2.
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State 2 SCOTUS cases regarding freedom from unreasonable searches.
United States v. Drayton (2002) 6-3, Board of Education v. Earls (2002) 5-4.
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State 2 SCOTUS cases regarding capital punishment.
Furman v. Georgia (1972) 5-4, Baze v. Rees (2008) 2-7.
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State 2 SCOTUS cases regarding rights of racial minorities.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) 9-0, Gratz v. Bollinger (2003) 6-3.
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State 2 SCOTUS cases regarding abortion rights.
Roe v. Wade (1973) 7-2, Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) 5-4.
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State 2 SCOTUS cases regarding executive actions.
Hamden v. Rumsfeld (2006) 5-3, Boumediene v. Bush (2008) 5-4.
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Define affirmative action.
Action favouring those who tend to suffer from discrimination; positive discrimination.
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Define partial-birth abotion.
Method of late term abotion that ends a pregnancy and results in the death and intact removal of a fetus from the uterus. Illegal since 2008 in the US.
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What does the XIV (14th) Amendment protect?
Abortion rights, vote for all, rights and liberties of citizens, citizen protection against states opposing the Federal Constitution/Government.
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State Section 1 of the XIV Amendment.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any lay which shall abridge (stop, curtail, limit)..
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Continue as above:
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws.
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State Section 5 of the XIV Amendment.
The Congress shall have power to enforece, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
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Why is the XIV Amendment so important?
Relative for abortion, gay marriage, racial discrimination and other cases.
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What is the history of the XIV Amendment?
Keeps the Union of States together rather than pursuing their own agendas. Ended slavery and stopped discrimination after the Civil War during the Reconstruction era. 13th abolished slavery and 15th prohibited states denying the vote.
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What specifically is the 14th Amendment important for regarding abortion?
Roe v. Wade ensured women hada choice of abortion up to the end of the 2nd trimester.
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Why is the 14th Amendment specifically important regarding gay marriage?
Obama created same-sex marriage through SCOTUS in 2015.
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Why is the 14th Amendment so important regarding racial discrimination?
Brown v. Board of Education ruled seperation in education is inherently unequal regardless of facilities as ruled by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896.
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Card 2

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Where is SCOTUS located?

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Northwest Corner of Capitol Hill

Card 3

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What is SCOTUS's chief function?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is SCOTUS's chief membership?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is the structure of the Federal Courts?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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