US Supreme court and civil rights

• conservative justice

  judge with strong belief in stare decisis, having a narrow view of the constitution, more likely to believe in a literal interpretation and smaller government
• imperial judiciary

  a judiciary that is all powerful and on which checks and balances are weak and ineffective
• judicial activism 


  an approach to judicial decisions that holds a judge should use their position to promote desirable social ends
• judicial restraint

  hold a Justice should defer to the executive and legistaltive branches which are politically accountable to the people and should put emphasises on precedent
• judicial review


  the ability of the supreme court to declare acts of congress and or actions of the presidency, unconstitutional and therefore null or void
• liberal justice

  a justice who interprets the constitution more broadly to give more people more freedom and bring about social change
• living constitution

  the idea that the constitution is an evolutionary document that can change over time through re-interpretations by the supreme court
• originalism

  the idea that the meaning of the constitution is fixed and should not be subject to interpretation
• public policy

  legislation and judicial decisons made on any policy that affect the whole of the US population
• stare decisis

  the doctrine is built on the idea of standing by decided cases, upholding precedent - thus tends to favor status quo
• strict/loose constructionist


  legal philosophy that favours broad interpretations of a documents language, used to contrast strict constructionist a philosophy that favors looking solely at written text of law.
• swing justice

  an informal name for the justice on the supreme court who falls ideologically in the centre of nine current justices.
• constitutional rights 


  rights specifically outlined for citizens within the US constitution, bill of rights and subsequent amendments
• racial equality

  equal regard to all races. it can refer to belief in biological equality and social equality for people of different races.
• affirmative action

  a policy favouring historically disadvantaged members of a community