Paper on Judiciary

Paper on Judiciary

The principles of checks and balances and separation of powers allows for the judiciary of the United States to be both independent and accountable. The United States Constitution has multiple examples of holding the judiciary accountable. In Article one, section two, clause five the House of Representatives is granted the power of impeachment over Supreme Court justices, while section three, clause six gives the Senate the power to hold the trial. Article two, section two, clause two provides power of the president to appoint Supreme Court justices with the advice and consent of the Senate which results in checks on the judiciary by both the legislative and executive branches. Through democratic election of the president and members of congress, voters are indirectly voicing their opinion about the direction the court.
Another way the Constitution holds the judiciary accountable is Congress’ and the states’ ability to amend the constitution as described in Article five. While these checks that hold the judiciary accountable are essential to American democracy, there are also several ways that the judiciary’s independence is protected by the Constitution. In Article three, members of the judiciary are allowed to serve and remain in the court during times of good conduct. This contributes to judicial independence by providing lifelong appointments for Supreme Court justices; insulating them from interest groups, and pressures of a constituency or political party, which are common of elected officials. Also, the livelihood of judges is shielded in the constitution by the provision in Article three, Section one, in that he legislative and executive branches cannot decrease the salary of judicial officials. This was foreseen by Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 79 which states that “power over a mans subsistence is power over his will.” One of the hallmarks of the independence of the judiciary is its ability to issue writs of certiorari to review the decisions...

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