Justices’ Political Predispositions and Legal Opinions Dissertation

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

I believe that the political predispositions of justices should not affect their legal opinions. This should be considered a fundamental truth for the reason that the Supreme Court is a legislative body rather than a political organization (Choper, 2013). Moreover, anyone who gets to the US Supreme Court counts on a fair decision that is based on facts and not predispositions. Still, the legal opinions of the majority of the US Supreme Court seem to be explicitly biased. To my mind, inattention to the rights and freedoms of any given individual in any given court (including the US Supreme Court) must be regarded as a kind of crime against the country itself (Owens & Wedeking, 2011). Even though it might seem like an exaggeration, the current situation proves that political predispositions of justices majorly impact their legal opinions.

Today, the majority of the Supreme Court is represented by conservative political judges. There are several vivid examples of these predispositions. For instance, the Court reached a verdict on the issue of abortion, stating that a private corporation could choose not to cover abortion care due to the religious beliefs of that certain worker (Choper, 2013). Even though it is evident that any person can have any political or religious beliefs, the issue is rather complicated and ambiguous. Currently, there is a possibility for any judge on the Supreme Court to operate his or her own religious belief with the intention of either permitting or refusing any person or business to make use of their right to medical care on the basis of their faith (Owens & Wedeking, 2011). It turned out that the conservative majority, consisting of five justices, voted that they could.

It would be rather reasonable to assume that personal or political viewpoints of the US Supreme Court justices affect their legal opinions on cases before the court. Nonetheless, it would not be true either if we supposed that Supreme Court justices only try to imply their own legal predilections like most of the politicians do (Casillas, Enns, & Wohlfarth, 2010). There are several aspects that subsidize to the complexity of this issue. First, it is almost impossible to separate a judge’s political partialities from his or her legal viewpoint. Some judges have faith in the fact that the Constitution should be interpreted conferring to what it initially meant (Bailey & Maltzman, 2011). Others think that the Constitution’s connotation can gradually transform or that any available evidence regarding the enactment of a decree might be utilized.

A judge who is hesitant to bring down laws and interprets the Constitution according to its initial philosophy will probably be quite insensitive to statements that several decrees intrude upon people’s constitutional rights. Moreover, if that judge is politically conservative, we might falsely assume that his or her decision is affected by political aspects rather than a legal viewpoint (Casillas et al., 2010). A judge’s personal experience is one of the most influential factors, but it is not always evident what kind of influence this factor would display. A judge might feel compassion for the poor if he or she grew up poor or may, on the contrary, believe that his or her own capability to fight the adversities of poverty proves that the poor should be in charge of their own state (Bailey & Maltzman, 2011). A judge who had experience with the military or administrational bodies may have a broader understanding of both their upsides and downsides.

References

Bailey, M. A., & Maltzman, F. (2011). The constrained court: Law, politics, and the decisions justices make. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Casillas, C. J., Enns, P. K., & Wohlfarth, P. C. (2010). How public opinion constrains the U.S. Supreme Court. American Journal of Political Science, 55(1), 74-88. Web.

Choper, J. H. (2013). Judicial review and the national political process: A functional reconsideration of the role of the Supreme Court. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Owens, R. J., & Wedeking, J. P. (2011). Justices and legal clarity: Analyzing the complexity of U.S. Supreme Court opinions. Law & Society Review, 45(4), 1027-1061. Web.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2020, August 13). Justices' Political Predispositions and Legal Opinions. https://ivypanda.com/essays/justices-political-predispositions-and-legal-opinions/

Work Cited

"Justices' Political Predispositions and Legal Opinions." IvyPanda, 13 Aug. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/justices-political-predispositions-and-legal-opinions/.

References

IvyPanda. (2020) 'Justices' Political Predispositions and Legal Opinions'. 13 August.

References

IvyPanda. 2020. "Justices' Political Predispositions and Legal Opinions." August 13, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/justices-political-predispositions-and-legal-opinions/.

1. IvyPanda. "Justices' Political Predispositions and Legal Opinions." August 13, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/justices-political-predispositions-and-legal-opinions/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Justices' Political Predispositions and Legal Opinions." August 13, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/justices-political-predispositions-and-legal-opinions/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1