« Discussion 4 (Due 6/25 by 11:59pm)

Gracyn Pires

Discussion 4

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EB ST Mary Campbell
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  1. In Federalist 78, Hamilton goes to great lengths to point out that the judicial branch was the least powerful branch. First, assess how correct Hamilton ended up being about this. Is the Judiciary the least powerful branch? Second, why do you think Hamilton was so careful to point out his belief that the judicial branch was the weakest? Even though the Judicial branch can interpret laws, it is considered the weakest branch. Really the Executive branch is the most powerful branch because it is the only branch to make final decisions on things. Another reason why the Judicial branch is the weakest is that it is also not in charge of money or the military. Those are two big essential parts of our country. Hamilton was careful because he wanted to relieve fears from the new department considering how the there was no judiciary under the Articles of Confederation


    In, “Federal judge blocks Trump’s executive order on denying funding to sanctuary cities,” Eli Rosenberg documents a federal judge’s ruling against a Trump Administration executive order that would divert federal funding from “sanctuary cities.” What themes from Tuesday’s lecture and the reading for this week can you identify in the article? In what ways are the events, actions, and items in the article examples of what we’ve talked and read about regarding the judiciary? Can you think of another example when a federal judge blocked a president’s action? A theme that I found in the article was overpowering that Trump thought he had. Another one was unconstitutional which the Judicial branch declared when President Trump brought up the oder he wanted to present. The federal judge found what Trump was doing unconstitutional and was going against the president. If the Judicial branch finds that the president’s act is unconstitutional they can overrule them. Another example is that the Federal Judge blocked Obama’s executive action on immigration. 


In the lecture and a bit in the text, the idea of balancing the independence and accountability of the Court was discussed. Why are those two ideas crucial to balance in designing the Court? Ultimately, which of those two won? Does the Court lean more towards independence or accountability? The two ideas are important because independence helps with the courage of the judges to make rules on certain difficult cases. Independence allows judges to not fear their decisions in the courtroom. Accountability helps with help keep the judges accountable for what they are doing and their performance in the courtroom with their decisions. I would say the court leans both ways. I don’t believe there is one way better than another. You need both to have a successful judicial branch. If you are more independent you will have less accountability and vice versa.
3 replies
  1. Post by Mary Campbell
    Discussion Reply
    I think that the executive branch is the most powerful in the eyes of the public because people tend to blame the executive branch for things that they had nothing to do with. The executive branch cannot always make final decisions because the courts can strike down executive orders as unconstitutional. I do agree that it is the weakest in regard to enforcing policy because you are right, they do not have access to militia or funding. In question two I think that you are right, and I had not considered Obama's executive order. I agree with your answer to question three because I think that the courts need both accountability and independence. I think that our courts have a little bit more independence which I think is a good think to protect from being swayed by public opinion.
  2. Post by Sara Thomas
    Re: Discussion 4
    I find similarities among some of our answers. In particular, I partially agree that the judicial branch is the weakest since they lack control over the military and money. Although they cannot guarantee the enforcement of their decisions they have the ability to say no to the other branches. I agree with your answer to number 2 and did not think of the example you provided. I strongly agree with your answer to number 3. I think that accountability and independence both need to occur among the justices in order for a fair decision to be made. 
  3. Post by Ethan Byron
    Re: Discussion 4
    I agree with your answers to most of the questions. I like how you provided an example for how the judicial branch is the weakest, when talking about how they can't control the military and money within the United States. I also agree with how you went into detail on the executive branch and how you said it was the most powerful branch. In question two I also used an example of Obamas Executive order getting blocked so I agree with you on that example and answer to the question. In question three I also think that both accountability and independence need to lean both ways in order to have a successful judicial branch.
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