There is a number of ideological and political tendencies that have an impact on the current judicial system of the United States (Baum, 2013). This paper explores the difference between liberal and conservative justices. The role of the politics and political leaning of the US Supreme Court is also explained.
Liberal and Conservative Judges
Liberal justices have always served as an opposition to conservative judges. They usually do not agree with the so-called original intent and suppose that the decisions can be made on the basis of both personal background or experience and Constitution (Epstein, Landes, & Posner, 2013). In most cases, the efforts of the liberal justices are focused on the results rather than compliance with Constitution. Liberal justices tend to be flexible and make decisions that may not be completely in accordance with the constitutional postulates. Conservative justices are seen as not so flexible as liberal justices (Epstein et al., 2013). They usually rely on the Constitution and make strict decisions that hardly involve their personal background or preferences.
Role of the Politics
Political views are considered to be one of the key factors when the question is about the role of the politics in the decisions of the US Supreme Court. Sometimes, the role is so big it becomes inherent in the process. It has been evidenced that political views had majorly impacted numerous outcomes (Greenhouse, 2012). History shows that the judges who were appointed by conservative presidents were more disposed to reaching conservative verdicts. Consequently, the judges that were appointed by liberal presidents showed a tendency of reaching liberal verdicts (Randazzo & Waterman, 2014). The controversy around the appointment process also signifies that personal and political views actually play a big role (Greenhouse, 2012). Nonetheless, it would be inaccurate to state that political views of the justices are their major priority. Numerous cases showed that the judges of the US Supreme Court are able to vote against the principles of their own party or make decisions that interfere with their personal background (Greenhouse, 2012).
The Impact of Ideological and Political Tendencies
First, the justices reach verdicts based on their attitude towards the Constitution. Constitutional rights of any given individual will not be treated the same if either liberal or conservative views are taken into consideration (Randazzo & Waterman, 2014). We should also understand that politically conservative justices would mostly reach conservative verdicts and liberal justices would consequently reach liberal verdicts. If we speak about the ideological impact, the key factor here is the personal background of the justice (Randazzo & Waterman, 2014). The judges that have experience in any specific field would most probably utilize that knowledge to make a reasonable decision, but the outcome in such cases is unpredictable.
Political Leaning in the US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States is currently leaning towards the liberal side (Randazzo & Waterman, 2014). This trend started a couple of years ago and continued after the death of Antonin Scalia. Liberal judges played a critical role in almost every major decision (Epstein et al., 2013). On the one hand, it is not clear yet if this change signifies a fundamental change in the US Supreme Court (Randazzo & Waterman, 2014). On the other hand, it is evident that this transformation is highly important for the court that has been conservative for several decades.
References
Baum, L. (2013). American courts: Process and policy. México: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Epstein, L., Landes, W. M., & Posner, R. A. (2013). The behavior of federal judges: A theoretical and empirical study of rational choice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Greenhouse, L. (2012). The U.S. Supreme Court: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Randazzo, K. A., & Waterman, R. W. (2014). Checking the courts: Law, ideology, and contingent discretion. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.