Rights of the Accused: Court Takes More Conservative Position on Civil Liberties
The Supreme Court began to take a more conservative approach to civil liberties in the years following the Warren Court. There was even an unsuccessful effort to overturn the Miranda decision. Terry v. Ohio which recognized the right of police offic...
Rule of Nine: Lower Court Nominations
The selection of lower court nominees has its own set of problems. Although the president is generally not as involved in the process, it is becoming more difficult to recruit legal talent because of the income differential. As prestigious as a judi...
Rule of Nine: Creating the Judicial System
Article III of the U. S. Constitution provides that there shall be one Supreme Court and such inferior courts as Congress should permit. It was the Judiciary Act of 1789 and subsequent legislation that created the system of federal courts that exist...
Rule of Nine: Federal Court System, The
In addition to the Supreme Court, there are more than 90 district courts in the federal court system, at least one in each state. Most cases end with the district court's decision, but if an appeal is filed, it goes to the appellate court, the next ...
Balancing Act: Status of Workers, The
Workers began gaining a degree of power in the 1930s when Congress passed legislation that guaranteed their right to bargain collectively and established a minimum wage. In the decades that followed American workers continued to strengthen their pos...
American Heritage: Government of the People
The American political system must respond to competing interests that result from the nation's size, diversity and economic complexity, and yet it remains the most stable, continuous political system in the world As Robert Reich cautions, we must n...
American Heritage: Guarding Against Overreaching Power
The federalist system that characterizes U. S. government has different branches that exercise checks and balances on each other in order to prevent any one branch from acquiring too much power. The rule of law embodied by the Constitution also limi...
Frames of Reference: Continuity of Political Attitudes
Although political attitudes formed early in life seldom change dramatically, the basic framework is refined by life experiences. Student activists in the 1960s tend to remain active although their causes may be more moderate than they were as colle...
Struggle for Equality, The: Landmark Legislation Stimulates Equal Rights Progress
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 contained provisions to end racial discrimination in public education and public accommodations. Its most controversial aspect, Title 7, prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of race, religion, national or...
Struggle for Equality, The: Judicial Decisions Contribute to the Quest for Equal Rights
Judicial decisions have contributed to the quest for equal rights, most notably Brown v. Board of Education in which the court took a stand against racially segregated public schooling. The 14th amendment of the Constitution says that no state may s...