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The Supreme Court and Judicial Power

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Constitutional Landmarks

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Abstract

The U.S. Constitution, the oldest written constitution, gives each branch of the federal government certain distinct powers, each apportioned through a separated system with built-in checks and balances calculated to guard against abuses perpetrated by any one branch. The nation is therefore said to have three separate governmental branches sharing power. This chapter introduces the Supreme Court and its exercise of power, examining milestone decisions beginning with Marbury v. Madison (1803). It then explains the framework used for exploring the Court’s policy-making across the three major constitutional eras as laid out in Robert McCloskey’s The American Supreme Court.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Charles M. Lamb

  2. Department of Political Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Jacob R. Neiheisel

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  1. Charles M. Lamb
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  2. Jacob R. Neiheisel
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Correspondence to Charles M. Lamb .

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Lamb, C.M., Neiheisel, J.R. (2021). The Supreme Court and Judicial Power. In: Constitutional Landmarks. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55575-7_1

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