POLS 314 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Precedent, Political Question
Document Summary
9/6/2016: the judicial review: american courts have the power to decide that the act of another government body cannot be enforced since it violates the u. s. constitution. Advantages of judicial review: promotes caution and care in making laws. Disadvantage: aggressive judicial review undermines democracy. Opinion-writing- the centerpiece of a judicial decision: always an eye on precedent (common-law systems only, emphasis on careful, detailed, written opinion, split among judges: Dissenting opinion: in common-law system, dissenting opinions are very useful, written opinions compel judges to think clearly and carefully, to write precisely, opinions sensitive to precision and careful interpretation. The judges first hear the cases, over a period of days worth of arguments, then they have to take the arguments and the evidence to then write the reasonings. American law system- thinks of judges as activists or restrained. Strict constructionists: value highly the original intent of the founding fathers: judges that interpret the constitution very strictly or narrowly.
