Question

How does the Supreme Court affect rights?

Answer 1

The Supreme Court significantly shapes civil rights through its authority to interpret the Constitution and make landmark decisions that influence the direction of civil rights law, with justices having a long-term impact due to their lifetime tenure.

Step-by-step explanation:

How the Supreme Court Affects Rights

The Supreme Court plays a crucial role in shaping civil rights within a country. The Court's power to interpret the Constitution and review the validity of laws means it can have significant long-term effects on civil liberties. By deciding cases, the Supreme Court can specifically influence individual rights, often stepping in when other governmental branches are unwilling or unable to act.

Justices, typically with lifetime appointments, are invested with the authority to impact the direction of civil rights law over many decades. When a citizen or group believes they have been wronged, the judicial system, especially the Supreme Court, is adept at examining the particulars of a case and delivering landmark decisions that can extend or clarify the protections offered by the Bill of Rights.

Moreover, the Court's decisions sometimes face backlash, potentially resulting in a loss of public support and impacting its power. However, as seen throughout history, the Court has been pivotal in guaranteeing the rights of citizens, such as through the process of selective incorporation, where it has extended protections of the Bill of Rights to the states, shaping society through its rulings on various issues like voter identification, campaign financing, and marriage equality.

Answer 2

They interpret the Constitution and any laws they may be deciding on, and determine if those laws violate anything that is in the Constitution. Many of those cases deal with the rights the Constitution grant to the citizens of the U.S. For example, a recent decision that dealt with the 2nd Amendment (the right to bear arms) said that the law in Washington DC that banned most people from owning handguns violated the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.

Also, the Constitution does not only outline the rights of the citizens, it also outlines the powers of the different branches of government, and the Supreme Court also rules on this. An example of this is the Line Item Veto that Clinton had as President. It was challenged, and the Supreme Court rules it was unconstitutional because the power of the President, as outlined in the Constitution, was to veto an entire bill or pass it, not just veto a section of it and pass the remaining parts.