How powerful is the US Supreme Court and how well are civil rights protected?
The role and powers of the Supreme Court, the nomination and confirmation process, judicial review, judicial activism and restraint, the political significance of the Court, and the protection of civil rights and liberties.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Politics on the role and powers of the US Supreme Court, the nomination and confirmation process, judicial review, judicial activism and restraint, the political significance of the Court, and the protection of civil rights.
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What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to explain the role and powers of the Supreme Court, the nomination and confirmation process, the doctrine of judicial review, the debate over judicial activism and restraint, the Court's political significance, and how effectively civil rights and liberties are protected.
Role and powers
Because it interprets a codified, entrenched constitution, the Court is far more powerful than the UK Supreme Court, which cannot strike down Acts of Parliament.
Nomination and confirmation
The life tenure that protects judicial independence also means the Court's direction is set by the accident of when vacancies arise and who holds the presidency and Senate, which is why confirmations are so fiercely contested and why the Court can lag or lead public opinion.
Activism, restraint and interpretation
The Court divides over judicial activism (a willingness to overturn laws and use rulings to shape policy) versus judicial restraint (deference to the elected branches and to precedent), and over originalism or strict construction (reading the Constitution as the framers intended, associated with conservative justices) versus the living constitution or loose construction (interpreting it in light of modern conditions, associated with liberal justices). These debates overlap with but are not identical to the liberal-conservative divide: an activist court can be either liberal or conservative, depending on its majority.
Civil rights and liberties
The Court has shaped civil rights through landmark rulings: Brown v Board of Education (1954), which ended legally segregated schooling and energised the civil rights movement; Roe v Wade (1973), which established a constitutional right to abortion, and its overturning in Dobbs v Jackson (2022), which returned the issue to the states; District of Columbia v Heller (2008) on individual gun rights; and Obergefell v Hodges (2015), which legalised same-sex marriage nationwide. Rights are also protected by the Bill of Rights and later amendments (notably the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection and due process clauses), though enforcement depends on the elected branches and the Court's own composition. The Dobbs reversal shows that the Court can both expand and contract rights as its membership changes.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 201912 marksExamine the ways in which the US Supreme Court can be described as a political institution. (Paper 3, Section C-style, USA essay rescoped to 12.)Show worked answer →
A focused essay with developed analysis and some evaluation.
Develop three ways. One: judicial review lets the Court make decisions with vast policy impact (Brown v Board, Roe v Wade, Dobbs), effectively shaping national policy. Two: the politicised nomination and confirmation process, where presidents choose ideological allies and the Senate fights over the balance of the Court. Three: the activism debate, where the Court can advance liberal or conservative agendas.
Evaluate by noting the counter-view that justices interpret law rather than make policy and are constrained by precedent.
Markers reward accurate cases, analysis of why each point makes the Court political, and a judgement.
AQA 202120 marksEvaluate the view that the US Supreme Court protects civil rights effectively. (Adapted from Paper 3, Section C essay; 25-mark essay rescoped to 20.)Show worked answer →
A balanced essay with a sustained judgement and developed arguments on both sides.
For effective protection: landmark rulings advancing rights (Brown v Board 1954, Obergefell v Hodges 2015), and judicial review enforcing the Bill of Rights against government.
Against: the Court can also restrict rights (Dobbs v Jackson 2022 overturning Roe v Wade 1973), depends on the elected branches for enforcement, and its rulings swing with its ideological balance.
Markers reward accurate cases, weighing of advances against restrictions, recognition that protection depends on the Court's composition, and a justified conclusion. AO3 (evaluation) carries the most weight.
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Sources & how we know this
- AQA A-level Politics (7152) specification — AQA (2017)