The Supreme Court does not issue laws. The purpose of the court is to interpret the laws, not create them. Making federal law is the responsibility of the Legislative branch, Congress, which comprises the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Supreme Court is the head of the Judicial branch; the Executive branch includes the President, Vice-President and cabinet members.
The Supreme Court only interprets the laws and the Constitution.
George Washington invited the first Supreme Court to issue opinions advising on laws under consideration by Congress. The court declined to do so, citing the language in the Constitution that limits its jurisdiction to "cases and controversies" and reasoning that pre-enactment advisory opinions would not involve real cases or controversies.
Since then, a law must be fully enacted before it can come to the court for constitutional review or, in other words, be a real case or controversy affecting real people.
Answer
Technically a court can only "interpret" the laws set forth by the legislature. However, some "activist" courts have taken it upon themselves to give a whole new meaning to the law, effectively enacting one that the legislature never intended.
Courts do have the power to invalidate laws if they are unconstitutional. Since this power was intended by the founders (see the Federalist Papers) that power can hardly be called "activist." Moreover, some people insist it is "activism" when the Supreme Court vindicates fundamental freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution. For example, when in 1954, the Supreme Court struck down school segregation laws for violating equal protection guaranteed in the Constitution, many people accused the court of activism because legislatures had failed to do the same.
The term "activist" is therefore a dangerous one to accept as descriptive of the court. In recent years, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court has reversed many long standing judicial precedents by issuing ruling that critics say have no other justifying virtue but that of applying rightwing political preference to all citizens through judicial Fiat.
The role of average citizens in this process may have been best expressed by future Supreme Court member Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. who wrote in 1869 that judges decide cases on "the felt necessities of the times." In other words, you can expect justices coming from corporate law backgrounds to feel the necessities of the times from the perspective of corporate leaders and justices coming from civil rights backgrounds to see the felt necessities of the times from the perspective of the movement for civil rights they participated in. Justices who gained their seat by political services are likely to see felt necessities of times from the perspective of their sponsors. This is not always true, there are examples in history of exactly the opposite being true, but on today's court, examples of the justices described above can be found and used to fairly reliably predict how they will rule based on who the litigants are. Human reasoning, after all, takes place in the human context.
the supreme court makes laws for the people to follow
The supreme court does not make laws. It is the duty of the supreme court (as well as all other courts) to interpret the law as it is written. Laws are made by the legislature: the U.S. senate and house of representatives.
no, i cant particularly answer this question, you may go to wikipedia to see if it might be there.
Judicial Review
Yes
it acts as the final authority on the constitutionally of state and Federal Laws
No, technically a court can only "interpret" the laws set forth by the legislature. However, some "activist" courts have taken it upon themselves to give a whole new meaning to the law, effectively enacting one that the legislature never intended.
The Supreme Court does not have a direct role in lawmaking in the United States. The Court's primary function is to interpret and apply the law, as well as to review the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress or actions taken by the executive branch. While the Court's decisions can have a profound impact on the development and interpretation of laws, it is ultimately Congress that has the power to make and amend legislation.
The Judicial Branch study laws to see if they are correct according to the Constitution.
The Supreme Court did not play a direct role in legalizing segregation. In fact, the Court issued several significant rulings that challenged and overturned segregation laws. For example, in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Court declared "separate but equal" segregation in public schools unconstitutional. However, certain Supreme Court decisions, like Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), perpetuated the "separate but equal" doctrine and set the stage for segregation laws. It took many years and additional Supreme Court decisions to dismantle legalized segregation.
it proposes and passes amendments
The judicial branch oversees the court system of the U.S. Through court cases, the judicial branch explains the meaning of the Constitution and laws passed by Congress. The Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch.
1876
The justice must be approved by the senate.
Enacting is the present participle of the word enact. Enact means to create a bill or law. Enact can also mean to act something out, such as in a play.
2000
No. The US President is also Chief Commander of the Armed Forces (military) and head of the Executive Branch of government; the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (or Chief Justice of the United States) is head of the Court during his (or her) term of office. The President cannot play a direct role in the operation of the Supreme Court under the doctrine of "separation of powers" because the Judicial Branch is an independent part of government.