Courts, unelected tyrants and public forums

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

7 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

09/29/2009

Category :

Law & contracts

Sub category :

Administrative law

Oboulo.com selection criteria

$ 14.95 Add to cart

Summary :

Introduction
Courts as unelected tyrants
1. The birth of 'the power by the judiciary' theory
2. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Courts are public forums
1. Courts as warranties of individual freedom
2. Courts, democratic places
3. Courts, places linked with their environment
Conclusion

Abstract

In 2000, during the American presidential elections, the role of the Supreme Court was highly contested. Indeed, it consists of a majority of judges appointed by republican presidents and it decided to stop counting the voices manually in contested towns in Florida and George Bush won the election. From this very simple example, we can understand the importance the judges may have in everyday life. That's why we have to pay attention to the role of courts and judges in our democracies in detail. First, we need to define what a court is. It is a kind of deliberative assembly with special powers to decide certain kinds of judicial questions. It will consist of parties and their attorneys, bailiffs, reporters and sometimes a jury. A court is a place, used by a power base to adjudicate disputes and dispense civil, labor, administrative and criminal justice under its laws, something we may call a "public forum".