The Impact of Supreme Court Decisions on US Institutions

A Sociology of Law Primer

Robert Costello, Colleen Eren

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9780367898496
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000454284
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Public Law
• Index: Social Sciences

This book bridges the disciplines of legal studies and sociology in its engaging introduction to the history, purpose, function, and influence of the Supreme Court, demonstrating through ten landmark decisions the Court's impact on the five key sociological institutions in the United States: family, education, religion, government, and economy. It gives an insightful picture of how these major decisions have additionally affected other sociological categories such as gender, sexual orientation, race, class/inequality, and deviance. The reader not only gains familiarity with foundational concepts in both sociology and constitutional law, but is given tools to decipher the legal language of Supreme Court decisions through non-intimidating abridgments of those decisions, enhancing their critical literacy. This book demonstrates the direct applicability of the Supreme Court to the lives of Americans and how landmark decisions have far-reaching repercussions that affect all of us.

The Impact of Supreme Court Decisions on US Institutions is essential reading for undergraduate students in social science courses as well as others interested in the workings of the justice system.

1
The US Supreme Court

A Brief Overview

DOI: 10.4324/9781003021438-2

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, students should be able to:

• Describe the United States Supreme Court
• Explain why, when, and how the Supreme Court was established
• Discuss a few of the most important cases ever presented to the Supreme Court
• Define the process in which Supreme Court Justices are selected
• Understand how to read a Supreme Court opinion
• Explain how the Supreme Court decides which cases to hear
• Discuss what happened during the Constitutional Convention
• Evaluate how important the US Constitution is to the Supreme Court

Key Terms

• Associate Justice
• Certiorari
• Chief Justice
• Constitutional Convention
• Court of Appeals
• Framers of the Constitution
• Judicial Review
• Judiciary Act of 1789
• Main Opinion
• Per Curiam Opinion
• Plaintiff
• Preamble
• Provision
• Respondent
• Supreme Court
• Supreme Court Opinion
• Syllabus

Introduction: History of the United States Supreme Court

In 1787, the Framers of the Constitution gathered in Philadelphia. Over 50 Framers—the youngest of them being Jonathan Dayton, who was in his mid-20s, and the oldest being Benjamin Franklin, who was in his 80s—discussed the need to create a third branch of the US Government, one that would accompany the executive and the legislative branches: the judicial branch. With memories of the revolution against the British monarchy still fresh, the Framers’ main goal was to create an independent federal judiciary, a desire brought on by their certainty that the new national political branches could not go unchecked.

Figure 1.1 US Supreme Court

License: US Supreme Court by dbking is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Two years later, the First United States Congress adopted the federal statute of the Judiciary Act, which represented the establishment of the federal judiciary of the United States. The Judiciary Act of 1789 was originally titled An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States. The Act, which President George Washington signed on September 1789, made the creation of the Supreme Court official, but it did specify that Congress had the authority

to create lower federal courts as needed. Principally authored by Senator Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, the Judiciary Act of 1789 established the structure and jurisdiction of the federal court system and created the position of attorney general. Although amended throughout the years by Congress, the basic outline of the federal court system established by the First Congress remains largely intact today.

(Library of Congress, n.d.a)

According to Article III, Section 1 of the US Constitution, the Act originally declared that the number of justices on the Supreme Court should be six—one Chief Justice and five Assembly Justices:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Supreme Court of the United States shall consist of a chief justice and five associate justices, any four of whom shall be a quorum, and shall hold annually at the seat of government two sessions, the one commencing the first Monday of February, and the other the first Monday of August.

( Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library, n.d.)

With the Judiciary Act of 1869, the number of Justices rose from six to nine—one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices, all having a lifetime tenure unless they resign, are removed from office, or die.

In 1789, the first assembly of the Supreme Court of the United States of America was officially appointed by President George Washington, who chose John Jay as the Chief Justice and John Rutledge, William Cushing, James Iredell, James Wilson, and John Blair as Associate Justices. Washington appointed these men because he considered them faithful supporters of the US Constitution as well as the Federalist cause. Many of them had also honorably served in the American Revolution and were actively involved in the political life of their own states and that had, over time, gained the invaluable support of prominent Federalists—meaning they had the blessing of those who favored a strong national government.

The Supreme Court Justices met for the first time in the Royal Exchange Building in New York City—then, the nation’s capital—in 1790. When Philadelphia became the capital, the Supreme Court met there from 1791 to 1800 and, once Washington D.C. was built, the Court moved to the Capitol building in 1801. However, when the British burned the building down in 1814, the Justices were forced to meet elsewhere—sometimes even in private homes. It wasn’t until 1929 that the Supreme Court was finally granted its own building in Washington, D.C. after Chief Justice William Taft—who was also President of the United States of America from 1909 to 1913—urged Congress to establish a budget for the project—which ended up costing almost $10 million (around $154 million in 2021). Construction for the US Supreme Court building ended in 1935. Today, the building—which is made with marble imported from Italy—features many amenities, including a gym on the third floor with a basketball court named The Highest Court in the Land. However, people are not allowed to play basketball while the Court is in session.

Under the presidency of George Washington, 11 Supreme Court Justices were appointed, and the record-setting number still holds to this day. In fact, the only other President who ever came close to matching Washington’s record was Franklin D. Roosevelt with nine Justices, while William Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Andrew Johnson, and Jimmy Carter did not appoint any new Justice during their presidential terms. The political ideology of each Justice on the Supreme Court certainly matters when it comes to choosing a new Justice. However, even though Justices appointed by a Republican President currently tend to lean more toward conservative values while those appointed by a Democratic President tend to lean more toward liberal values, it does not mean that their political party affiliations determine the outcome of a specific case. For example, even though President Ronald Reagan appointed Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Republican whose tenure on the Supreme Court began in 1988 and lasted until his retirement in 2018, Kennedy was considered the swing vote during the Roberts Court—especially after Associate Justice Sandra O’Connor retired—as he tended to take a more liberal approach rather than the more obvious conservative one.

But what criteria are taken into account when Supreme Court Justices are selected and appointed? As we’ve already seen, it is the President of the United States of America who nominates a Justice, who is then approved by the Senate by simply voting for the candidate—the majority wins. Although all Justices must have been trained in the law, it might come as a surprise that the job requirements to be considered a potential candidate for the role of Supreme Court Justice do not include being a native-born citizen of the United States of America, being of a certain age, being a lawyer, or having graduated from law school. For example, James F. Byrnes, who was Associate Justice on the Stone Court from 1941 to 1942, not only did not graduate from law school; he never graduated from high school. Instead, he was self-taught and passed the Bar at the age of 23 after studying law on his own. Robert Jackson, who was an Associate Justice on two different courts—the Stone Court (1941–1946) and the Vinson Court (1946–1953)—studied law at the Albany Law School in New York. However, he only received a graduation diploma from the university because he was only 20 years old at the time he graduated and, as such, did not meet the age requirement that stated a student had to be at least 21 to graduate from law school. Eventually—30 years later—he was presented with the actual law degree.

When a new Justice is nominated by the President and approved by the Senate, he or she must take the constitutional oath of office. Over the years, there have been many occasions in which the new candidate has made history with his or her constitutional oath of office, but none of them can perhaps be compared to the one that Thurgood Marshall took.

Born in 1908 in Maryland, Thurgood—whose original name was Thoroughgood until he shortened it to the one he’s remembered by—descended from enslaved people from both sides of his family. His parents instilled in him a love and respect for the United States Constitution and his father made sure to take him to hear court cases so he could witness the art of debating, which is why he wrote that his father, although never told him to become a lawyer, eventually turned him into one by constantly challenging him to prove every statement he ever made.

Hugo Black was born 22 years before Marshall, in 1886. The youngest of eight children, Black originally wanted to become a doctor like his older brother, who however recommended that young Black attend law school instead—which he did, even though he had never finished high school. After serving in the army during World War I, Black joined the Ku Klux Klan, which granted him membership for life, information revealed once he became Associate Justice to the US Supreme Court in 1937. After the uproar caused by this revelation—which President Roosevelt, who had nominated him for the Supreme Court role, stated he was unaware of—Black admitted that, although he did join the Klan, he had also resigned and had absolutely no intention of ever joining the Klan ever again.

Marshall’s and Black’s paths would eventually cross when Marshall asked Black—who was once an Alabama Klansman—to administer him the oath when Marshall was voted by the Senate to the Supreme Court, a decision that was rather symbolic and spoke volumes as to how committed Marshall was to making an overture to the South. Hugo Black’s acceptance of Marshall’s proposal was also rather significant as he had also proven his liberal bona fides on the Supreme Court.

After making history also for becoming the first African American Supreme Court Justice—one of two to date, the other one being Clarence Thomas who actually replaced Marshall himself—Marshall voted on the Brown v. Board of Education case, among many others.

Demographics of the United States Supreme Court Justices

Of the 115 Justices that have served on the Supreme Court since its establishment, there have been: • One hundred and eight white men Justices • Five women Justices (Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Amy Coney Barrett) • One Latina Justice (Sonia Sotomayor) • Two African American men Justices (Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas) • One Italian American Justice (Antonin Scalia) • Eight Jewish Justices • None have identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community

The Supreme Court has changed significantly since its establishment in 1790, especially in its everyday operations and customs. For example, during the Marshall Court only had a few cases to deal with and, for this reason, didn’t need to meet for longer than six weeks. However, during the more recent Roberts Court, the Justices meet for nine months—beginning in October of each year and ending in June the following year. Even though in the early days of the Supreme Court, the Justices only met for a short period of time, they were assigned other duties that exhausted them to the point that Chief Justice Jay was close to resigning. In fact,

The Judiciary Act of 1789 required them to journey twice a year to distant parts of the country and preside over circuit courts. For decades they would grumble, and hope Congress would change this system; but Congress meant to keep them aware of local opinion and state law.

Therefore,

Stagecoaches jolted the Justices from city to city. Sometimes they spent 19 hours a day on the road. North of Boston and in the South, roads turned into trails. Justice Iredell, struggling around the Carolinas and Georgia on circuit, and hurrying to Philadelphia twice a year as well, led the life of a traveling postboy.

( The Supreme Court Historical Society, n.d.)

Finally, in 1793, Congress decided that one circuit trip a year for the Supreme Court Justices would suffice.

Something else that has changed since 1790 is the attire that Supreme Court Justices wear. In fact, even though business was lacking for the Justices at the beginning, the courtrooms were full, and spectators admired the robes worn by Justices for their class, elegance, and the way they carried themselves. However, one day, while Associate Justice Cushing was walking down the streets of New York City, wearing the typical full-bottom professional wig of British judges, and little boys were running after him. Suddenly, a sailor looked at him and shouted...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 The US Supreme Court: A Brief Overview
• 2 US Institutions: A Brief Introduction
• 3 Education
• 4 Family
• 5 Religion
• 6 Government
• 7 Economy
• Index