U.S. Government and Civics / Unit 8: The Federal Courts
8.6 Checks on the Courts
Notes
The courts are independent, but other branches can limit them.
- Enforcement: courts rely on the executive branch to enforce rulings. In 1957, President Eisenhower sent troops to enforce school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas.
- Constitutional amendments can reverse rulings. The 16th Amendment (1913) allowed a federal income tax after the Court had struck one down; the 26th Amendment followed a ruling that Congress could not set the voting age for state elections.
- Legislation: Congress can rewrite a law the Court interpreted, and can change the courts' appellate jurisdiction and number of judges.
- Appointments: the president and Senate shape courts over time by choosing judges.
- Impeachment: judges can be impeached and removed for misconduct. Justice Samuel Chase was impeached in 1804 but acquitted.
Practice
Congress and the states ratified the 16th Amendment to allow an income tax after a Supreme Court ruling against one. This shows:
An amendment can override a constitutional ruling.
Why does the Supreme Court depend on the other branches?
The executive branch enforces court decisions.
Which is a way the president influences the federal courts over the long term?
Judges serve for life, so appointments have lasting effects.
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