Conflict between the Legislative and Judicial Branches - Essay Example

Conflict Between the Legislative and Judicial Branches: Congressional Override and the Supreme Court The Supreme Court, as the highest law in the land in the U.S., reigns sovereign. But what happens when that sovereignty is challenged head-on When Congress passes reaction legislation, directed at specific Supreme Court decisions, who has the final say then Here, it shall be examined: what Congressional overrides are; what Supreme Court statutory interpretation (Congressional intent) is; and the power play between the legislative and judicial branches. First, what are the powers of the Congress "The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) grants to Congress the power to enact laws to carry out the 'enumerated powers' (Clauses 1-17), which are specifically assigned to the federal government."1 Next, one must ask, what are the powers of the Supreme Court Obviously, the powers that the Congress and the Supreme Court have are going to be different. "The Supreme Court's most important responsibility is to decide cases that raise questions of constitutional interpretation. The Court decides if a law or government action violates the Constitution. This power, known as judicial review, enables the Court to invalidate both federal and state laws when they conflict with its interpretation of the Constitution."2 Secondly, what are Congressional overrides "Congressional overrides are most likely when a Supreme Court interpretation reveals an ideologically fragmented court, relies on the text's plain meaning and ignores legislative signals, and/or rejects positions taken by federal, state, or local government."3 Overrides usually occur when the meaning of a text is skewed and it was misinterpreted by the Court or not ruled on fairly. "Congress is much more likely to override 'plain meaning' decisions that any other type of Supreme Court decision."4 Additionally, "One should expect Congress and the Supreme Court to have different preferences for statutory interpretation in the large majority of cases. The Court is responsive to the plain meaning and legislative history of statutes even when they are quite old, while Congress is more interested in its own current, rather than historical preferences."5 Further, the law requires that certain objectives are met in the reading of a text. "Applying the plain meaning of the text furthers important rule of law values, such as predictability, certainty, and objectivity."6 Usually when Congress overrides the Supreme Court, it is done quickly (usually within two years). However, sometimes the Court may misread the predilections of Congressmembers, or, rather, be cryptic in the way it tells Congress that there are problematic Constitutional issues that need to be resolved. Normally those sorts of overrides are also in a year or so and usually come with added worries that the Court is not functioning efficiently. As is bound to happen, perhaps, certain interest groups such as women and the disabled are usually the key players in Supreme Court statutory decisions. "The Court has been more conservative than Congress on issues involving civil rights. The Court's relative conservatism in civil rights cases can be attributed to the difficulty of applying old statutes and legislative history to unanticipated problems and to the Court's own strongly conservative preferences about civil rights policy. Congress' Democratic majorities have been committed to liberal civil rights enforcement"7 In the 70's, Congress tended to be leaning to the left, politically speaking, while the Supreme Court was more conservative regarding civil rights. As such, the Court generally had to deal with more overrides at that time. That tends to be the case whenever a liberal Congress is harnessed with a conservative Court. However, this is not always the case. "During the late Warren Court and early Burger Court (1967-71), the Court's preferences for interpreting civil rights statutes were more liberal than those of Congress."8 Wards Cove Baking Co. V. Antonio was one of the many 1989 judgments which cut out parts of Title VII, due to the fact that the overall outcome of the judgments were thought to be detrimental to the complete application of Title VII. However, in GE v. Gilbert, there was an instance where the Court was indecisive: "The Court was split (6-3); the split was along ideological lines (conservative over liberal); the decision relied on plain meaning and constitutional precedent; and the decisions represented a public defeat for organized women's groups, unions, and the EEOC. Congress promptly overrode it."9 There have been numerous cases of overrides. Although federal, state, and local governments usually do not have their Supreme Court defeats reversed by Congress, "The four Congresses from 1967-74 generated an average of six Supreme Court overrides per Congress. The eight Congresses from 1975-1990 generated an average of twelve Supreme Court overrides per Congress."10 Thus one naturally arrives at the question, what is Supreme Court statutory interpretation (Congressional intent) One of the key elements surrounding statutory interpretation is that the Courts act more in line with the wishes of the current Congress than the Congress that is newly elected. On average, since 1975, each Congress has overridden about twelve of the Court's statutory decisions.11 The Court itself, however, changes with time. "The Court facilitates the operation of pluralism over time by updating statutes to reach new situations, to reflect new values, and to accommodate the current preferences of governing political forces."12 What is the power play between the Supreme Court and Congress Who has the ultimate say in how a Supreme Court decision is handled Truly, it is this power play that is central to the problematic element between deciding who has the authority to be the deciding factor in a ruling which is contested between the Congress and the Supreme Court. "A dynamic games exists between between the Court, Congress, and the President. The game is a dynamic one because each player is responsive to the preferences of other players, and because the preferences of the players change as information is generated and distributed in the game."13 In turn, Congress is liable to the Court, and at times the Court will challenge the Congress's preference for one policy over another. However, it must be resolved accordingly. "Congress's policy-making realm is sometimes challenged by the U.S. Supreme Court when the Court renders a decision reflecting a policy which conflicts with congressional preferences. At times this conflict proceeds to a battle over national policy, culminating in Congress overriding the Court's decision."14 Expressly, the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in specific areas. There is one area in which it has "original but not exclusive jurisdiction," as evidenced here: "([a]) The Supreme Court shall have original but not exclusive jurisdiction of: (1) All actions or proceedings to which ambassadors, other public ministers, consuls, or vice consuls of foreign states are parties; (2) All controversies between the United States and a State; (3) All actions or proceedings by a State against the citizens of another State or against aliens."15 Additionally, there is a clause called the Necessary and Proper Clause which is phrased so that Congress takes part in sharing its power with other departments, including ledning its legislative power. "The means [of this Necessary and Proper clause] may violate the principles of federalism and the separation of powers, the enumerated powers or may violate natural rights."16 "[According to the]Necesary and Proper Clause, sometimes called the "coefficient" or "elastic" clauseCongress [has] a share in the responsibilities lodged in other departments, by virtue of its right to enact legislation necessary [for] execution[,] all powers vested in the National Governmentdelegat[ing] some measure of legislative power to others..."17 In the beginning, the framers of the Constitution originally had to deal with the problems of federalism versus states' rights. It was sorely contested by one side that there should be an absolute control over the states, which would thus favor the Supreme Court. Then, there was the concept of states' rights, which would favor individual courts. In the end, the best of both worlds were realized in the Constitution. Although states would continue to have jurisdiction over their own courts, the Supreme Court would be the ultimate deciding authority on issues brought to the federal court. "[T]he framers sought to make 'ambition ... counteract ambition,' thereby 'supplying, by opposite and rival interests, the defect of better motives.' Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court were thus designed to face each other at arm's length[knowing the] opposite branch might potentially overreach its rightful bounds."18 However, on the Supreme Court, there is individual liberty which cannot be breached by either branch. This helps the judiciary remain impartial when resolving cases that come to their attention. "Aside from their appointment by the president with the 'advice and consent' of the Senate, the justices remain free from interference by the legislative and executive branches, and this independence enables them to serve as a neutral umpire in resolving federalism disputes."19 One of the benefits of this process is that one better understands the powers of Congress. "[S]uccessful congressional overrides of Supreme Court decisions has added to our understanding of Court-Congress interaction..."20 As for the Court's power, the Court often will not delineate the necessary steps of an ordinance in the wider sense, usually because broad interpretations usually affect policy that the Court would prefer that the Congress would make. Thus, this is one case in which the Supreme Court defers to Congress for an override. "The Court, for institutional reasons, will often invite a congressional override. A statutory override demonstrates an administrative mechanism responsive to the political process, something the Court could not have done."21 Congress has continuously been given the role of oversight by the Supreme Court; in fact, the swath of the power of Congress to investigate a matter is wide, concerning the potentiality it has to bring into fruition statutes and delegate according to the Constitution. As one has seen over time, Congress has fulfilled its Constitutional duty to be an effective branch that has the same amount of weight as the judicial branch, and has been able to act in spite of partisanship. "One of the dynamic factors influencing the Court's interpretation of statutes over time is the signals sent to the Court by subsequent Congresses."22 As one can see, the issue regarding Congressional override and the constitutional legality of the Supreme Court's statutory interpretation is a complex issue. Specifically, here it has been examined what a congressional override is, what Supreme Court statutory interpretation is, and what the conflicts are between the legislative and judicial branches. REFERENCES Brickman, Danette. "Congressional Reaction to U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: Understanding the Introduction of Legislation to Override"Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, Hotel InterContinental, New Orleans, LA, Jan 03, 2007 . 2009-02-04 http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p143265_index.html. Retrieved 9 May 2009. Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Institute. "U.S. Code Collection: Original Jurisdiction." http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/28/usc_sec_28_00001251----000-.html. Retrieved 9 May 2009. Eskridge, William N. "Overriding Supreme Court Statutory Interpretation Decisions." The Yale Law Journal 101 (1991-1992). Lieberman, Jethro K. "Supreme Court of the United States," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761574302/supreme_court_of_the_united_states.html. Retrieved 9 May 2009. Namtvedt, Peter. "Necessary and Proper Clause." Reason to Freedom Web Site. Posted 7 Nov 2007. http://www.reasontofreedom.com/necessary_and_proper_clause.html. Retrieved 9 May 2009. OneCle Court Opinions. "Necessary and Proper Clause." http://law.onecle.com/constitution/article-1/49-necessary-and-proper-clause.html. Retrieved 9 May 2009. Post, Robert. "Congress and the Court." Daedalus 132 (2003). Schwarz, Jr., Frederick A.O. "Where's Congresss in This Power Play" Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law Web Site. http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/wheres_congress_in_this_power_play/. Retrieved 9 May 2009. Tarr, G. Alan. "U.S. Supreme Court Shifts to Centre in Recent Constitutional Rulings." Forum of Federations Global Network on Federalism Web Site. http://www.forumfed.org/en/products/magazine/vol7_num1/us.php. Retrieved 9 May 2009. U-S-History Web Site. "Implied Powers." http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h173.html. Retrieved 9 May 2009. Read More