Paper Should Include:
- Introduction, Thesis, Supporting Paragraphs, and Conclusion
- 4-8 pages (not including title and work cited page)
- MLA Format
- Double Spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt font, one inch margins
- page number on bottom right of each page
- heading (name, date, title of paper)
- 3 sources
Reflecting on course materials, including Struggle for Democracy, coursework, and at least THREE additional sources, write an essay in response to the following issue:
Consider that Supreme Court Justices, demographically unrepresentative of the American population, are appointed to life tenures with “good behavior”. This is, in effect, lifetime service for judges who are not directly elected to office by the American people. In fact, justices may serve up to about four decades, and resign at their leisure. Also, having distinct ideological tendencies and sensitive to the political climate, justices often time their resignations to mesh with their own political preferences as to their successors. In so doing, they impact the selection of incoming justices. Moreover, the Supreme Court is influential in the policy making process.
How does this situation impact the adequacy of the Supreme Court for the practice of democracy in the American political system. What do you think about the assertion that the structure of the Supreme Court is an obstacle to the realization of majority rule, even if tempered by the preservation of minority rights? In other words, does the structure of the Supreme Court hinder governing according to the “consent of the governed”? If so, then reflect on what can be done to repair what some perceive as flaws in the structure of the Supreme Court. If this cannot be done, then why not?
