Supreme Court

Supreme Court Madness Hannah Lester

Supreme Court Introduction Ever since the principle of judicial review was established by the 1803 Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison, landmark Court decisions have become a preeminent method of enacting social change in the United States. Judicial review refers to the ability of the Supreme Court to review laws and to determine whether or not they are constitutional. However, constitutional interpretation varies from Justice to Justice; and the lens through which constitutional provisions are viewed is in constant evolution in line with the changing mores and values of society. This capstone project takes the cultural phenomenon of March Madness an annual college basketball championship in which many fans partake by creating brackets featuring their top seeds and ultimate victorand applies that idea to Supreme Court cases. It will profile sixteen cases (the Sweet Sixteen, several of which are focused on in this literature review) which have been seeded according to personal preference, and will culminate in the naming of the most influential Supreme Court case in history. For the purposes of this project, influential will be assessed in terms of societal impact; and within those parameters, must meet two conditions: 1) that the case in question challenged/changed the status quo, and 2) that the decision has had a lasting effect on society as well as current legislationthat it has not been since invalidated and that it has been enforced as was intended. Marbury v. Madison The aforementioned case, Marbury v. Madison, cannot be overlooked when determining the most influential Court case of all time; for without the principle of judicial
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Supreme Court review, subsequent decisions would not have been made possible. Thus, Marbury v. Madison is integral to the power of the judiciary, as Nelson argues in his novel Marbury v. Madison: The Origins and Legacy of Judicial Review (2000). Dred Scott v. Sanford On another note, Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) was undeniably impactful due to its indirect hand in causing the Civil War, a point which was emphasized in a journal article from the Chapman University Historical Review (Oswald, 2012). Despite this fact, it has been categorically denounced as one ofif not theworst decision(s) in Court history. In addition, because of the Thirteenth Amendments abolition of slavery, the decision is no longer necessary to enforce. Brown v. Board of Education Through a radio interview with one of the Little Rock Nine, Minnijean Brown, the postBrown v. Board of Education era is characterized as turbulent and somewhat violent, associated with social upheaval (Chadwick, 2007). The decision was met with much backlash from the public, forcing President Eisenhower to intervene by sending in federal troops to enforce the integration of Central High School. Brown v. Board (1954) remains one of the most widely recognized Court cases to this day. Roe v. Wade A photo gallery from Yahoo! News (Applewhite, 2013) consisting of pictures from Roe v. Wade in 1973 and contemporary photographs related to the case illustrate that it is still hotly
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Supreme Court debated. Because of its controversial nature, Roe v. Wade has continued to attract attention 40+ years after its ruling and is therefore relevant even today. Abortion is a polarizing issue to say the least, one on which a consensus has not yet been reached; though polling data has reflected that public support of the Courts decision has increased over time. Various Other Cases Conversely, scholarly articles downplay the outcomes of several major cases such as Weeks v. United States (1914), Korematsu v. United States (1944), Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), and Miller v. California (1973); arguing mainly that these decisions have been either poorly executed or have lost their authority in years following, thereby not satisfying the second condition of societal impact (Kaye, 2011; Weiss, 2014; Bright & Sanneh, 2013; Duvall, 1992). Conclusion This literature review has summarized the public reaction to some of the forerunners of Supreme Court Madness. Thus far, based upon scholarly opinion, research indicates that Marbury v. Madison and Brown v. Board of Education have had the most influence upon affecting societal shifts in the United States: the former, for its foundational value; and the latter, for its considerable radicalism. However, the argument can be made that all forthcoming decisions would have been negated had Marbury v. Madison not been put into effect, so it may have a slight advantage over the others.

Supreme Court Bibliography:

Applewhite, J. S. (2013, January 19). Roe v. Wade. Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/photos/roe-v-wade-slideshow/ Bright, S. B., & Sanneh, S. M. (2013, June). Fifty years of defiance after Gideon v. Wainwright. Yale Law Journal, 122. Retrieved from http://yalelawjournal.org/images/pdfs/1178.pdf Chadwick, A. (Interviewer) & Brown, M. (Interviewee). (2007). Segregation showdown at Little Rock [Interview audio file]. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11912932 Duvall, S.A. (1992). A call for obscenity law reform. William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, 1. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1551&context=wmborj Kaye, D. H. (2011). Unraveling the exclusionary rule: From Leon to Herring to Robinson--and back? UCLA Law Review, 58. Retrieved from http://www.uclalawreview.org/pdf/discourse/58-11.pdf Nelson, W. E. (2000). Marbury v. Madison: The origins and legacy of judicial review. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. Oswald, A. (2012). The reaction to the Dred Scott decision. Voces Novae: Chapman University Historical Review, 3. Retrieved from http://journals.chapman.edu/ojs/index.php/VocesNovae/article/view/328/704

Supreme Court Weiss, D. C. (2014, February 4). Scalia: Korematsu was wrong, but you are kidding yourself if you think it wont happen again. ABA Journal. Retrieved from http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/scalia_korematsu_was_wrong_but_you_are_ kidding_yourself_if_you_think_it_won