AP U.S. Government and Politics
Ms. Gordon
Ms. Gordon
8/8/19
The Supreme Court has progressed from a liberal court to a conservative majority over a time period of just 50 years. Three cases demonstrate this progression. In 1962, a liberal Supreme Court ruled that mandating a school prayer was unconstitutional under the First Amendment in Engel vs. Vitale. In 1992, however, a more conservative Court found a state law that restricted bringing firearms to school unconstitutional in the case: United States vs. Lopez. Later in 2008, a solidly conservative Supreme Court ruled that corporations can give unlimited amounts of money in support of political campaigns in Citizens United vs. FEC.
Reciting a school prayer that acknowledges God was held unconstitutional in the case Engel vs. Vitale in 1962. 370 US 421 (1962). At the time, New York law required public school students to recite an optional prayer. Local citizens and organizations challenged the law and the case went before the Court of Appeals of New York, and later to the Supreme Court with Earl Warren as the Chief Justice. After the law was challenged, a liberal majority decided that a school-sponsored prayer was unconstitutional as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The option of allowing students to stay silent did not make the law constitutional because it could put students who did not participate in an awkward situation. School prayer is still relevant today because the government sometimes incorporates religion into public education that favors specific religions and beliefs.
In a 1992 Supreme Court case, a Texas student named Alfonso Lopez took a gun and bullets to his high school, resulting in the case of United States vs. Lopez. 514 US 549 (1955). Lopez was charged with violating a Texas law of having a firearm in school, which later changed to violating the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. Lopez’s attorneys argued that Congress did not have the power to pass the Act in the first place, but a federal district court disagreed and said the Act was constitutional. Lopez was sentenced to six months in prison with two years of supervised release. When Lopez took the case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, they decided that the law was invalid because Congress did not have the power to create it. In 1994, the case went to the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice, William Rehnquist, agreed that Congress did not have that power. A Conservative majority found the Act unconstitutional because schools are local institutions. This case is very relevant to America today because it relates to the current debate of federal gun control, and whether it would be upheld under the Commerce Clause.
Finally, the Supreme Court’s transition to a solidly conservative Court was nearly complete in 2008 when a film about Hillary Clinton was released by Citizens United before primary elections took place. Later, this issue turned into the case of Citizens United vs. FEC (Federal Election Commission). 558 US 310 (2010). The FEC ruled that the film was a violation of federal law, but Citizens United sued because they believed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) violated their First Amendment rights. The case started at the District Court for the District of Columbia and then went straight to the Supreme Court with John Roberts as the Chief Justice. The Supreme Court ruled that the BCRA was unconstitutional in violation of the First Amendment because the First Amendment protected corporations, not just individuals, and Congress cannot limit the amount of money they can spend on political campaigns. This case is relevant to today, especially as the 2020 election approaches, because of the influence and corruption of politics through enormous spending done by corporations.
Using only three examples of Supreme Court cases in the past 50 years, the shift in the Supreme Court's philosophy was very apparent. In Engel vs. Vitale, the Supreme Court ruled that a school prayer was unconstitutional in 1962 when it was liberal. By 1992, the Supreme Court was more conservative when it ruled that a state could not restrict bringing firearms to school in U.S. vs. Lopez. Fairly recently in 2008, the conservative Supreme Court ruled that corporations could give any amount of money they desired in support of political campaigns in the case: Citizens United vs. FEC. The evolution of the Supreme Court from being liberal to conservative has a huge effect on society, especially in politics today.
Works Cited:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/370/421
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/93-1260.ZO.html
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-205.ZS.html
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