Congress and the Judiciary

For next week, which domestic issues do you want to discuss?

Don 't forget your weekly writeups by the end of the week.

SCOTUS as a check on Congress

• Federal statutes that SCOTUS has overturned.
• Upholding Obamacare (Davidson 346)  CA v. TX decision
• "Judicial activism" (347)
• Regulations and The end of Chevron deference

Congress as a check on the judiciary

Court-stripping (Davidson 355-356)

Amending the Constitution

11th Amendment (1795): Overturned Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), which had allowed citizens of one state to sue another state in federal court, restricting federal judicial power over states.

13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery, effectively overturning aspects of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which had ruled that Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories.

14th Amendment (1868): Granted citizenship to all born/naturalized in the US, directly overturning the Dred Scott ruling that African Americans could not be citizens.

16th Amendment (1913): Authorized a federal income tax, overturning Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895), which had declared a federal income tax unconstitutional.

26th Amendment (1971): Lowered the voting age to 18, overturning part of Oregon v. Mitchell (1970), which held that Congress could set voting ages for federal elections but not state/local elections. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Impeachment of Judges and the strange case of Alcee Hastings and his comeback De mortuis nil nisi bonum

 Supreme Court Nominations (361-367)

Fortas roll call:  a filibuster precedent

In hearings, senators try to get judicial nominees on the record.  NOTE WHAT ALITO SAYS (START AT 18:45) ABOUT STARE DECISIS.

Feinstein stepped in it when ACB was up for Court of Appeals

Merrick Garland and "the Biden Rule" 

Gorsuch and the nuclear option 

KBJ

Blue Slips and Senatorial Courtesy (Davidson, 368-370)

Applies to US Attorneys:

The Trump record on the courts