The Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court
The supreme court is the highest judicial body in the U.S. it is made up of eight associate judges that are led by the chief justice. All are nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate. The supreme court is charged with many duties. It is responsible for leading the judicial branch of the federal government by interpreting the constitution and laws. It evaluates the constitutionality of the ;laws that are challenging, settles disputes between the states and hears cases that involve the constitution and the federal laws (Fourteenth Amendment, n.d). In many cases, the supreme court is has always been the conscience of the nation. This means that the court has always ruled on cases in the national interest rather than the individual interests. For instance, the Supreme Court has been able to set landmark rulings such as the 2010 ruling on the use of spending of a corporation for political campaigns (Goodman, 2008).
The Fourteenth Amendment was proposed by Congress in 1866 and ratified by the states in 1868. It reflected Republican determination that southern states should not be readmitted to the Union and Congress without additional guarantees. The first major interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s effect came in the Slaughterhouse Cases (1873), in which the Court suggested that most basic civil rights and liberties of citizens remained under control of state law (14th Amendment, 2010). The later cases concerning the 14th amendment, the Supreme Court limited the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States referred to in the amendment to relatively narrow rights such as protection on the high seas and the right to travel to and from the nation’s capital. These cases drastically curtailed the protection afforded by the amendment against state violations of fundamental guarantees of liberty. One reason for the Court’s narrow construction of the amendment was its fear that a more expansive reading would threaten the basic functions of state governments, both by federal judicial action and through enforcement of federal statutes that might displace large areas of state law (Richard, 1994).
Basing on these cases, it is true that the Supreme Court rarely speaks with one voice. The Court can sometimes be a conscience for the nation just like in the first case of the fourteenth amendment. It can on the contrary be a temporarily legitimize its more selfish and destructive instincts as it did in the cases that followed the initial cases of the 14th amendment.
References
14th Amendment, (2010). 14th Amendment to the U.S constitution. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://thomaslegioncherokee.tripod.com/14thamendmenttotheusconstitution.html
Fourteenth Amendment, (n.d). Rights Guaranteed Privileges AND Immunities Of Citizenship, Due Process And Equal Protection. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://www.gpoacces. s.gov/constitution/pdf/con025.pdf
Goodman, D. (2008). The Effects of the Fourteenth Amendment on the Constitution of the United States. Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from: http://mhkeehn.tripod.com/DG07EffectsOfFourteenthAmendment.pdf
Richard, A. (1994). Constricting the Law of Freedom: Justice Miller, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Slaughter-House Cases. Chicago Kent Law Review, 70. Pp. 627.
