AP Government Unit 5 Schedule
The Judicial Branch- Chapter 16
“Whoever attentively considers the different departments of power must perceive, that, in a government in which they are separated from each other, the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution; because it will be least in a capacity to annoy or injure them. The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments.”
-Federalist #78
Overriding Questions
1. What is the process that the Supreme Court uses to add cases to its docket?
2. How are the justices politically insulated and how are they tied to public opinion?
3. What guides the Court when granting a writ?
4. How does the Judicial Branch make policy? How has that role changed over time?
Name: ______Hour: ___ AP European History – Mr. W.B. Brooks
# / Assignment Title / Due Date / Points PossibleU5HW1 / Read Chapter 16 and take notes (Due by end of 3rd day of Unit)
U5HW2 / Reading – “Five to Four” / 50
U5HW3 / Take Home FRQ / 50
U5HW4 / Reading – Supreme Court Justice: Rhenquist / 25
U5HW5 / Reading – Supreme Court Justice: Brennan / 25
U5HW6 / Test Corrections (Only required for those that scored BELOW 80% on Unit Summative)
U5CL1 / Greenhouse Article – “A Surprising Snapshot” / 100
U5CL2 / Reading – Liptak “Clarence Thomas SC Sielence” / 100
U5CL3 / Reading Quiz (Only Over Textbook Chapters)
U5CL4 / Unit Summative / Exam (MC, FRQ, DBQ – Possible Formats)
RJ / Unit Reading Journal (Completed By 3rd Day of Unit)
RG / Reading Groups (Done In Class On Day Before Unit Exam)
Unit 5 - Federal Courts / Readings: Edwards, George C.,et all. Government in America: Chapter 16
Relevant Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Time andwire service articles
Areas of Study:
Scope of Judicial Power
Federal Judicial System
The Politics of Appointing Judges
Supreme Court and its Operation
Role of the Courts in Policy Process
First Amendment and its clauses
Participants in the Judicial System
District CourtsCourt of Appeals
Supreme Court
Accepting Cases
Making Decisions - Opinions
Historical Review
The Courts and Democracy
Assignments:
See Schedule for Unit (Above)
After studying this Unit, students should be able to:
• Explain why the American judicial system is called an adversarial system.
• Identify the major actors in the judicial system and explain their functions and responsibilities.
• Describe the functions of federal district courts, courts of appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Summarize judicial selection procedures for federal judges and justices.
• Discuss the backgrounds of judges and justices.
• Describe the role of the courts as policymakers.
• Summarize procedure in the U.S. Supreme Court, including the “discuss list,” oral argument, the conference, and opinion writing.
• Explain the importance of opinion writing at the Supreme Court level and describe the different types of opinions.
• Identify factors used by the Supreme Court in deciding which cases to accept for review.
• Analyze the contrasting positions of judicial restraint and judicial activism.
• Trace the historical evolution of the policy agenda of the Supreme Court.
• Examine the ways in which American courts are both democratic and undemocratic institutions.
From Unit V – Federal Courts-Judicial Branch (Chapter 16).
Name: ______Hour: ___ AP Gov’t & Politics – W.B. Brooks
Unit 5, HW#2“Four To Five”
- In the first paragraph, it states that the Supreme Court is being “transformed.” What does that mean and what trends do you see happening now and for the future of our Supreme Court?
- Who is Roberts? What are his opinions and what views is he most likely to have? (Cite examples of his mini-bio.)
- Who are the “conservative” judges of our Supreme Court?
- Who are the “liberal” judges of our Supreme Court?
- What are some of the “ways” that conservatism has taken hold in our Supreme Court?
- What is Kennedy’s mini-bio while being on the Supreme Court? Why is he so pivotal?
- What is Steven’s mini-bio while being on the Supreme Court? Why is he so important?
- What are the details of the Casey decision of 1992?
- What is really significant (more than their lasting legacy, according to the reading) about Presidents selecting Supreme Court Justices?
- Why does the author say, “the liberals face… actuarial peril.”
Name: ______AP Government
HW#3: FRQ
- The Constitution provides each of the three branches of government with the capacity to limit and trump the powers of the other two.
- Describe one way the president can check and balance the powers of the federal judiciary.
- Describe on way Congress can check and balance the powers of the federal judiciary.
- Describe on way the Supreme Court can check and balance the powers of the executive branch.
- Describe on way the Supreme Court can check and balance the powers of the Congress.
Name: ______AP Government
HW#4: Supreme Court Justices
Reflections on the History of the Supreme Court of the US
-Chief Justice Rhenquist
1). According to Chief Justice Rhenquist, what has the Supreme Court struggled with consistently in the past?
2). What is the significance of Marbury vs. Madison?
3). What important precedent did Chase’s acquittal set?
4). Why did FDR desire to “pack” the court?
5). How did FDR win “control” of the Supreme Court?
6). How did the US Senate “save” the independent judiciary two times in our history?
How the Supreme Court Arrives at Decisions- William J. Brennan
HW#5: Supreme Court Justices
1). The Supreme Courts rules based on facts “embalmed” in a record from what two sources?
2). Why are answers so unclear for judges?
3). What are the three ways a case can reach the Supreme Court?
4).How do justices decide to hear a case?
5). What are the 3 types of opinions that can be handed down by the various justices?
Name: ______Hour: ______
Eugene Rostow- Democratic Character of Judicial Review
1). “The attack on judicial review as undemocratic rests on the premise that the Constitution should be allowed to grow without a judicial check”
Name three arguments Rostow uses to combat this argument and quote.
Study Guide for Chapter 16
1). Ideologically where would most strict constructionists be today? Activists? Where would they have been fifty years ago?
2). What role did the Founders expect the Supreme Court to play?
3). Be able to articulate the primary issues of the three historic eras of the Court (1787-1865, 1865-1937, 1938-present).
4). Know the significance of the following monumental cases: Marbury v. Madison (1803) and McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
5). When given no chance to alter the composition of an increasingly belligerent Court what plan was proposed by FDR in 1936? To what result?
6). In 1953 Earl Warren became Chief Justice. What characterized his tenure on the Court?
7). How does one become a Federal Judge?
8). In the US there is a dual court system. What does that mean?
9). The Supreme Court is an appellate court with discretionary authority. How many petitions are received in a typical year and of those how many are actually heard?
10). What is the “rule of four”?
11). From the average citizens’ perspective what are the two prerequisites for getting a case heard in the Supreme Court?
12). How are the final decisions made in the Supreme Court?
13). List a basic and fundamental restraint on judicial power.
14). List at least (3) Congressional checks on judicial power.
15). What role does public opinion play on Supreme Court decisions?
16). Explain the roots of and the meaning of getting “borked”
17). Name at least two contemporary criticisms of judicial activism.