Article ( ) of the U.S. Constitution created the U.S. Supreme Court. - answer✔III, "The Judicial
Power shall be vested in One Supreme Court
What does the Supreme Court do? - answer✔Interprets and clarifies ambiguities in the meaning
of the constitution. And decide cases (Orderly dispute resolution). (What they define things as
then apply to everyone.)
What should the Supreme Court BE? - answer✔Impartial and unbiased
SCOTUS is above both ( ) and ( ) courts - answer✔State and Federal
Statutory Cases: - answer✔Deciding about language in legislation
Constitutional Cases: - answer✔About legislation and other actions of government- do they "fit"
with the constitution
The government has to ( ) something to make it unconstitutional - answer✔violate
Party that lost in lower court and is bring the case to SCOTUS - answer✔Appellant/Petitioner
Party that won in lower court - answer✔Appellee/Respondent
Affirm - answer✔Agree with the lower court's decision
Reverse - answer✔Disagree with lower court's decision
Remand - answer✔To send a case back to a lower court to be tried again (Fix It)
Concurrence - answer✔the agreement of a judge with the court's majority decision, for a reason
other than the majority reason
Dissent - answer✔To disagree
The Legal Rule - answer✔Word, Phrase, or Sentence in an opinion that explains the WHY of the
decision. It will guide future cases and actions. Overall it is an attempt to clarify AMBIGUITIES
in the Constitution and DEFINES the meaning of the constitution. It is the law!
Congress can.... - answer✔1. Change the number of justices (Doesn't have to be 9)
Change the CONSTITUTION (if they feel SCOTUS got it Wrong!!!)
2. Influence types of Cases SCOTUS reviews (change their jurisdiction)
3. Impeach Justices
Congress cannot ( ) SCOTUS - answer✔Get Rid of/Abolish
The ( ) is the first amongst equals - answer✔Chief Justice
Majority - answer✔More than half of the justices (At least 5-4)
Plurality - answer✔Most in agreement but not necessarily the majority (Could be something like
4, 3, 2)
Concurrence - answer✔the agreement of a judge with the court's majority decision, for a reason
other than the majority reason
Dissent - answer✔to disagree
Legal Model: - answer✔a view of judicial decision making that argues that judges make
decisions based solely on THE LAW
Attitudinal Model - answer✔A view of judicial decision making that argues judges make
decisions based on their political ideologies that they want realized through their rulings.
However this model ignores the fact that justices need the MAJORITY to make decisions. (They
can't decide all alone)
Political Models suggest that something other than ( ) helps justices make their decisions -
answer✔The Law
Justices vote together unanimous (9-0) decisions ( ) % of the time - answer✔55-60%
Using conservative v. Liberal to label the justices fails to... - answer✔1. Reflect their role and
task of judicial review (They should be neutral and unbiased!!!)
2. Consider that their rulings reach across political divides (9-0 rulings especially)
3. Account for the fact that they may prefer incremental change rather than extreme shifts
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