The president of the United States may nominate judges to serve on the Supreme Court. A Democratic president chooses progressive judges and a Republican president chooses conservative judges. How come these judges can leave their mark on society in such a way? Isn’t it the parliament that votes the laws?
Answer
Dear Tim,
As can also be seen from the importance of the electoral college in presidential elections, the American system continues to rely heavily on the individual states that make up the US. Hillary Clinton won in total citizen votes, but Donald Trump wins the presidency because he managed to amass more electoral votes in the electoral college: that electoral college is an element in the process that gives the states a say.
In the US, enacting laws is also largely a matter for the states, not for the congress (= parliament) in Washington DC. The Supreme Court is the body that can rule on whether such a state law is in accordance with the Constitution. But in addition, the laws of Congress (because they exist, of course, but to a lesser extent than in some other federalized countries) can also be challenged in the Supreme Court. Again, the court is essentially asked to verify whether the contested law does not contravene the constitution (= Constitution + Amendments). The interpretation of those eighteenth-century documents is, of course, subject to contemporary views.
It seems strange to us Europeans that Americans give so much power to a small group of judges (9 people), but it is consistent with the suspicions of the US Founding Fathers of both the executive (president and cabinet) and the legislature (the parliaments). There should, in their view, also be a strong legal force, which can control the other two branches of government and, if necessary, whistle them back. Only in this way, they believed, could the excesses of the European dominions from which they had fled be avoided. The 9 judges are appointed for life (the oldest is currently 83; there is also an 80-year-old; the average age is almost 70) and cannot be swept aside by a new president (or congress) just like that.
See also the link I include for a nuanced view that the judges would so clearly reflect the political leanings of the president who once appointed them.
Answered by
Prof. Gert Buelens
English and American Literature American Studies Gender and Sexuality
http://www.ugent.be
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