reversals of Supreme Court decisions

The Supreme Court has the last word, within the American judicial system, on questions of constitutional interpretation. However, a Supreme Court decision regarding interpretation of the Constitution can be overturned by a constitutional amendment. A Court decision on interpretation of federal laws can be overturned by Congressional enactment of a new law.

Reversals by Constitutional Amendment

The people, through their representatives in government, can use Article 5 of the Constitution to overturn the Court's decisions. Article 5 provides that constitutional amendments can be proposed by a two-thirds vote of the members of each house of Congress or by a special convention that Congress calls after two-thirds of the state legislatures have voted to request it. For a proposed amendment to be ratified, three-fourths of the states must approve it, either by their legislatures or by conventions especially convened for this purpose. To date, all amendments have been proposed by Congress, and all but one (the 21st) have been ratified by state legislatures. The 21st Amendment was ratified by state conventions.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, 4 clearly were enacted to overturn unpopular Supreme Court decisions. The 11th Amendment overturned Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) by guaranteeing the immunity of states from lawsuits by citizens of another state or a foreign country. The 14th Amendment nullified Scott v. Sandford (1857) by guaranteeing the civil rights and citizenship of African Americans. The 16th Amendment overrode Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Co. (1895) by giving Congress the power to levy an income tax. The 26th Amendment negated Oregon v. Mitchell (1970) by permitting 18-year-olds to vote in state elections. Many other attempts to enact constitutional amendments to override Supreme Court decisions have failed.

Reversals of Court decisions by Congress

Congress has a rather simple and direct way to negate unpopular decisions of the Court that have nullified federal statutes: It can pass a new law. For example, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to overturn the Court's decision in Ward's Cove Packing Company v. Atonio (1989). In Ward's Cove, the Court decided that an individual proving discrimination by an employer could still be dismissed or demoted from a desired job as long as the employer could prove that the discriminating practice was necessary to maintain his business. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 makes it illegal for an employer to claim “business necessity” as a reason for intentional job discrimination against an individual based on race, color, ethnic origin, and gender.

Although most bills that have been introduced to overturn Supreme Court decisions have not been passed, the power of Congress to negate certain kinds of Court decisions is an important part of the American constitutional system of separation of powers and checks and balances.

See also Amendments to the Constitution; Precedents, judicial; Separation of powers