Federalist 78

1. What was Hamilton's position regarding the power of the Judiciary to declare
legislative acts contrary to the Constitution void?
2. Why does Hamilton consider the independence of the judiciary to be a vital
component of constitutional government?
3. What arguments does Hamilton advance for establishing permanency of judicial
offices?

Marbury v. Madison
Short Multiple Choice Quiz

Judicial Self-Restraint
1. Why does Roche state that "it is naive to assert that the Supreme Court is limited by
the Constitution..."?
2. To what extent has the judiciary been limited as the result of political demands to curb
judicial discretion?
3. What are the two major techniques of judicial self-restraint?
ELK GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT et al. v. NEWDOW et. Al.
The Pledge of Allegiance Case
Short Multiple Choice Quiz

How the Supreme Court Arrives at Decisions

1. Evaluate Justice Brennens statement that the Court is not a council of Platonic
guardians, nor involved in making social, political, economic, or philosophical decisions,
these insofar as they concern government at all being properly the function of the
peoples elected representatives. The justices are charged with deciding according to
law...
2. How does a case get docketed with the Supreme Court?
3. Do you feel that the procedures of the Supreme Court described by Justice Brennen
are adequate for the Court to meet its vast responsibilities?

Constitutional Liberty and the Right to Abortion

Justice Sandra Day OConnor
1. Is OConnors argument about stare decisis convincing? Have facts changed within
the gambit of the Roe decision? Is OConnor grasping at straws in order to uphold the
earlier ruling? Is there a qualitative difference between the West Coast Hotel and Brown
decisions and the situation surrounding Roe? Should this discussion even be a part of the
decision, or should it have been left out?

Liberty, Privacy, and the Right to Abortion

Chief Justice William Rehnquist
1. Is public opinion or the agreement of state and local law a necessary element in a
fundamental right? Explain

Liberty and Abortion: A Strict Constructionists View

Justice Antonin Scalia
1. Scalia argues that the Courts language defending the right to abortion might equally
be used to defend other actions the Court has found are not protected rights. Is he right?
Has he taken some of the language out of context? Is the court, in the abortion decisions,
deciding on the basis of reason and law, or on the basis of political concerns and value
judgments? Is the Court susceptible to continuing a decision just to keep from looking
weak and indecisive in the face of protest?