Strengths And Weaknesses Of Judicial Review

The Judicial Branch is the balancing factor of the Government. It is the listener of the people of the US and it decides on all matters regarding the people. It "interprets the nation's law" (World Book 141). Being able to interpret the law gives the Judicial branch a special kind of power. One of which the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch do not possess. The Judicial branch decides when a law has been broken, to what extent, and how to punish the criminal act. And that is what makes it the strongest branch.

Judicial Branch is established under Article III of the Constitution. It was created to be the weakest of all three branches of government. Each branch has its own characteristics, but what distinguishes this branch from other two is that Judiciary is passive. It cannot act until someone brings case in front of them. Even if some law or act is unconstitutional, courts are powerless to do anything on their own. Contrary to Judiciary, other two branches are active, and have power to attack other subjects.

Have you ever wondered which branch of government was the most powerful? There are three branches of government but not all of them have the same power. Well if you didn't know the most important branch is the judicial branch. Even though all the branches are powerful,but at different times, The judicial branch has the final say in the use of power because it can overturn rulings by other judges ,they Can rule that an presidential action or law is unconstitutional , and the supreme court cannot be fired by the president.

With the young nation of America entered into the 19th century, there were still major issues when it came to the balance of powers of the different government branches. The status of judicial review in the Supreme Court was never pressed upon or given any real structure to. The power of judicial review had appeared many times in history before the set up of the Supreme Court as, in England, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas Sir Edward Coke made the originated the idea . During the ruling of the case of Dr. Bonham’s Case, Coke found that the London College of Physicians had no right to levy fines against anyone who violated their rules. He would later go on to state that, “no person should be a judge in his own case” (Fletcher 12). The act was revolutionary at the time as it set the notion of that an official body of government was needed to give fair governess to the people. The idea would pop up once in a while in events such as the Constitutional Convention where records that were kept by the textbook University of Chicago Law Review saw that “13 out of the 15 delegates made statements that were in support of the idea of judicial review” (Prakash 123). The interesting part about the quote is that it states that the idea of judicial review was in place in America many years before the actually case of Marbury v. Madison. Even in the Federalist Papers No. 78 which was published in May 28, 1788, by Alexander Hamilton, went into lengthy discussion about judicial review. In

The next paragraph that Hamilton wrote defined what the judiciary system is about. He first explains the roles of the Executive and legislature saying “the Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community” and “the legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated.” Directly following these statements, Hamilton described the judiciary by writing, “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 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.” Hamilton wrote that the judiciary’s job was “merely judgment.” The judiciary has the power of judgment over the different levels of government, including state governments. It has the power to judge whether the laws made by these governments are constitutional or the antithesis.

Federalist 51 addresses the importance of checks and balances in defense of the United States Constitution. By setting up the government in this fashion, Hamilton or Madison argues that no one branch will tyrant over another. His argument mentions that first, each of the distinct powers of the government needs to be divided so that each branch has a purpose of its own and does not overlap the jurisdiction of another branch. This, according to Hamilton or Madison, will lay down the foundation of the government of the United States. The three branches include “the supreme executive, legislative, and judiciary” and “[the branches] should be drawn from the same foundation of authority, the people.” The author calls for a democratic form of government

The United States government consists of three main branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Within the contents of this essay, the judicial branch will be examined. The judicial branch of the United States government oversees justice throughout the country by expounding and applying laws by means of a court system.1 This system functions by hearing and determining the legality of such cases.2 Sitting at the top of the United States court system is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States encompasses the federal judiciary, explicitly the judicial branch. This court is comprised of life-long serving Justices who are selected by the President of the United States and approved by the Senate.3 Cooperatively,

Nevertheless, some critics argue that the judidicary, some critics argue that the judiciary are the final arbiters of what is meant by the principle of separation of powers, which therefore provides the judiciary with subordinate levels of power. Moreover Chief Justice Hughes concluding that the ‘Constitution is what the judges say it is’ due to ability to interpret the constitution. In America, although Congress may new laws affecting courts, ultimately judges decide.

The Constitution divided the power between three branches; which are the judicial, executive, and legislative branches. This way the people’s rights would be efficiently upheld and respected. However the Anti-Federalist did not think it was enough. “The Federalists pointed to the judiciary-the least dangerous branch- as one of the key protectors of state sovereignty and individual liberty”(Mayer 7) Anti-federalist, Robert Yates, then responded with saying that the judicial branch had the power to “protect” or take action as they saw fit . Also the Antifederalists thought that the president was given too much power which would lead to tyranny. In contrast the Federalist believes that tyranny will be avoided because the government is broken into three branches. The branches would then use the system of checks and balances to make sure no one over powers the other.

Delegates from 12 states met to discuss the revision and/or replacement of the Articles of Confederation. They spent days a building with all windows closed to ensure maximum security. What they were doing was to be kept from the outside world and would change the course of American history. Out of the weeks spent arguing, the United States Constitution was written and made. During their meeting, the Framers knew they had to create a stronger, powerful federal government. Still weary of giving any one person too much power, they devised a plan to make three branches of government or known as the Separation of Powers. These were the Judicial Branch, the Legislative Branch, and the Executive Branch, each holds certain powers over the other to keep them balanced. This is called Checks and Balances. Document 7 is a simple chart the shows the different jobs or powers that each branch holds. For example, the Legislative Branch (Congress) passes and makes laws and can declare war and impeach (remove) the President. The Executive Branch (carries out laws) includes the President, he serves as the commander and chief of the armed forces as well as negotiates foreign treaties. These days, our relationship with foreign leaders and countries are quickly being tarnished because of the newly elected president. The Judicial Branch (Supreme Court and other federal courts) interprets laws. They can declare laws

These three branches of government include the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch which all have separate powers. While the Legislative Branch has the power to make laws, the Executive Branch has the power to put the laws into action. The Judicial Branch meanwhile is made up of courts which interpret the laws and apply them in cases brought before them. Although these branches have their own powers, they are also able to prevent the other branches from having excessive power through what is known as checks and balances. As Madison writes in “Federalist Paper #51” (Document C), “The constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that they may be a check on the other… the three branches should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other.” Each branch has a different method of keeping the other branches in check. While the Executive Branch can manage the laws made by the Legislative Branch by vetoing Congressional legislation, the Legislative Branch can override a President’s veto and additionally impeach the president. The Legislative Branch can also impeach judges and remove them from office in the Judicial Branch, which can in turn declare laws made by the Legislative Branch as unconstitutional. The Executive Branch can control the Judicial Branch by nominating

Judicial Independence is fundamental to democracy, it serves as a guarantor of the rule of law and separation of power . However, nothing is perfect. There is some defect regarding to the judicial independence and solution must be made to curb the weakness.

Hamilton discusses the powers of the judiciary in the Federalist papers essay no 78. He asserts that the judicial arm of the government is the least likely to threaten liberty and property of the citizens. Part of this assertion was brought about by his conviction and beliefs, that the judiciary was the weakest branch of government. The constitution spells out three branches of government which are independent of each other and perform different roles to the benefit of citizens. This document also spells out the checks and balances that help in regulating the three branches. For the judiciary, however, its nature of the roles makes it weakest. It also means that the role that judiciary plays in ensuring justice is meted upon every individual in the country makes it the least arm of government that can threaten individuals’ political rights.

The powers of the judicial branch rest in the courts, which decide arguments about the meaning of laws, how they are applied, and whether they violate the Constitution. The latter power is known as judicial review and it is this process that the judiciary uses to provide checks and balances on the legislative and executive branches. However, judicial review is not an explicit power given to the courts, but it is an implied power. The judicial branch is established in Article III of the Constitution. The judicial branch consists of nine justices, including a chief justice, appointed for life terms by the president with the consent of the Senate. The court also serves as a trial court in cases involving foreign ambassadors, ministers, and consuls, and in cases where a U.S. state is a party.

The judicial branch carries the most power because they have the ability to settle disagreements surrounding the meaning of law.The judicial branch takes power and has the ability to rectify disagreements enclosing the meaning of law.’’Decide if laws or actions by the president are constitutional’’