Final answer:
Judicial decisions are translated into actual policy through a process called judicial implementation, which requires the executive and legislative branches to enforce these rulings.
Step-by-step explanation:
How and whether judicial decisions are translated into actual policy is known as judicial implementation. The term refers to the process through which executive and legislative branches leverage their authority to enforce or sometimes ignore the rulings of the judiciary. While courts are crucial in interpreting laws and setting legal precedents, they need the other branches of government to put these decisions into action, as they lack the means to enforce their judgements themselves. This was famously demonstrated when President Andrew Jackson reportedly ignored the Supreme Court ruling regarding the seizure of Native American lands, and by Abraham Lincoln when he suspended habeas corpus despite a court order. These examples underline the importance of judicial implementation in the functionality of judicial decisions within public policy.