- In what ways is the court system better suited to protect the individual, than are the elected branches of government (such as Congress and the President; or the Mayor of NYC and the NYC City Assembly)? Give an example to illustrate your argument.
The focus will always be to look if the individual’s constitutional rights were violated. It is the demand that is set by the constitution to protect citizen’s of their rights. This is to examine and control the abuse of power by the government. The constitution was written to make sure that government no matter the power they hold do not violate rights. This was due to the abusive government present in England. The Miranda example is a perfect example of how the court system functions. Upon looking at the facts, his rights were violated. Needn’t matter whether he was guilty or not, what is prioritized is his individual right.
2. Think about how federal judges get to become judges – unlike Presidents, Mayors and members of Congress (and other legislatures), they are not elected, but rather appointed. Many Americans have thus called the federal courts system, and especially the Supreme Court, anti-democratic PLACES IN OUR GOVERNMENT. Do you agree that the Supreme Court, for example, is an anti-democratic part of our government? What could be the reason for this way of choosing judges in federal courts? (HINT: think about our discussion of “Federalist #10”, and which social class plays a leading role in our government system.)
I think it has more to do with the zeitgeist which is fairly represented by the president. Since the president has the power to appoint a judge it must be because they represent the people. As of right now Roe vs Wade has been overturned. A horrible fate that women from most 50 states have suffered from. The judges in power were appointed by Donald Trump a republican president who chose judges with a republican views. This is a demonstration of Anti-Democracy present on the government. For the country is not entirely one or the other. However, when a handful of judges only support one opinion it is more likely for a country’s conditions to be shaped in the way of the judges. The power they hold is much greater for they set the rules of the land.
