US Court and Supreme Essay

U.S. And Supreme Court

Contrast the U.S. Circuit Courts with the U.S. Supreme Court in terms of their authority to strike down an act of congress or of the states?

The United State Supreme Court is the highest judicial body of the U.S. The Circuit Courts on the other hand are the intermediate courts which make rulings before an issue reaches the Supreme Court. There are nine circuits which divide the country. Each state belongs to one of those nine circuits.

Whereas the United States Supreme Court has the ability to review any law brought before them, the circuits can only review laws which affect the states under their jurisdiction. A circuit court may rule a law unconstitutional-based either on the constitution of the state or based on the national constitution. Both bodies have the ability to review any legislation created to check its lawfulness.

However, a decision made by a circuit court can be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is, as its name suggests, the highest court in the country and their decision is the ultimate one. The circuit courts can rule over their jurisdiction, but the Supreme Court has a national jurisdiction.

4) Is there a right to privacy according to Justice Scalia? Stevens? Explain.

Justice Scalia of the United States Supreme Court stated that there are some things a person should be allowed to keep private, but that not everything a person does or says has the same right.As technology increases, privacy becomes more and more of a problem. It is easy to acquire information such as addresses and telephone numbers and what kinds of things a person purchases regularly.

According to Scalia, this is completely acceptable. This was in response to the findings that citizens have dossiers collected about them. In the 1940s and 1950s, the FBI kept records of anyone they deemed subversive. In the present, nearly everyone has a similar dossier somewhere in the world, although the information is not solely in the possession of the government.

Justice Stevens, on the other hand, believed that all people had a right to privacy. He felt that there were certain aspects of a person's life which they should be able to keep private. This came directly from the Roe v. Wade case, which discussed women's right to privacy about whether they had an abortion. Privacy in such matters as medical history, according to Stevens, were part of a constitutional right.

7) What are the differences between a majority opinion and a dissenting opinion in terms of an actual case law and policy impact?

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