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Specification:
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AQA Component 3.2.1.4; The judicial branch of government: the significance of judicial review
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Edexcel Component 4.6: Interpretations and debates of the US Supreme Court: the extent of their powers and the effectiveness of checks and balances
Background: what you need to know
The US Supreme Court has ruled by a narrow 5-4 majority that President Trump must release foreign aid funds that he was withholding. Voting with the three liberal-inclined justices were Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative who sometimes acts as the ‘swing judge’ and Amy Coney Barrett, who is usually seen as a hardline conservative.
This shows the ability of Supreme Court justices to make rulings, independently of the president with whose ideology they might be expected to align themselves. In this case they have acted to check presidential power. Don’t forget, though, that four of the conservative justices found in favour of Trump’s policy. The case illustrates the divided nature of the Court.
Click the link below to read the article and then answer the questions:
US Supreme Court upholds order forcing foreign aid payments
Question in the style of AQA Politics Paper 2
Question in the style of Edexcel Politics Paper 3A
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Evaluate the view that the US Supreme Court is effective in checking executive power. You must consider this view and the alternative to this view in a balanced way. [30 marks]
TIP: Supreme Court justices are expected to make their rulings in light of the US Constitution. The Court’s conservatives have sometimes been accused of giving the green light to presidential over-reach, as in last year’s landmark 6-3 ruling that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for acts committed in their official capacity: ‘Immune, immune, immune’: Five key points from Donald Trump’s Supreme Court case
Graham Goodlad, Portsmouth High School