StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Hamiltons Views on Judicial Power - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Whoever attentively considers the different departments of power must perceive that, in a government in which they are separated from each other, the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution; because it will be least in capacity to annoy or injure them…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.7% of users find it useful
Hamiltons Views on Judicial Power
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Hamiltons Views on Judicial Power"

Download file to see previous pages

The concept is enshrined in the constitution of the United States and in the various states that expressly forbids each branch of government to usurp the power of any other branch. Hamilton gives the anxiety of their time that because the legislature holds the purse strings and the executive the sword of society, the impartiality of the courts can be undermined, that it is the weakest branch of government with neither will nor force to enforce its judgement. Considering the fact that the the constitution provides for certain limitations which the legislature is proscribed from enacting such as bill of attainder, ex-post facto law, the question arosed on how the courts may declare such unconstitutional law null and void with impartiality and justice.

Hamilton rationalized that the two non-judicial branches must not take offense for the declaration of their acts as unconstitutional as one of interference because the court is only declaring the letter of the constitution and did not do so as one superior to them, that the act does not constitute a substitution of their will or pleasure. The constitution, in order to assure the independence of judges, declares their tenure of service as permanent based pm good behavior. The periodic appointment of judges would likely indebt them to either executive or legislative branch responsible for their appointment.

The independence of the judiciary is essential to the enforcement of the constitution because it is an aspect, like that of separation of powers, of the concept of "checks and balance" and ultimately of governance. Judicial independence is not only a normative ideal but an institutional virtue as well. And in the said virtue and ideal lies the capacity of the courts to protect individual rights, to police the structural limits of governmental power and to decide individual disputes based on the applicable law and the factual records of each case without regard to intimidation or other impermissible influences, if any.

Judge Learned Hand (1958) urged caution in the exercise of judicial power. He considered the source and nature of the power of judicial constitutional review as necessary to prevent the failure of the government created by the constitution. He also proposed judicial restraint, saying that the power should be "confined to the need that evoked it" meaning, as a check on the usurpation of power by the other branches. For him the judiciary plays the necessary role in maintaining a government "between absolutism and the kind of democracy that so often prevailed in Greek cities during the sixth to fourth centuries before our era.

" Like Hamilton and Montesquieu, Hand believes that no single branch should have absolute power, especially not the judiciary.Modern thinkers (Shane, 1998) proffer that the paradigm of judicial restraint may often be misleading, unhelpful and even counter-productive. They propose another paradigm, that of "inter-branch accountability." They admit that "every branch has the power to make life more difficult for

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Hamiltons Views on Judicial Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Hamiltons Views on Judicial Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/law/1521223-hamiltons-views-on-judicial-power
(Hamiltons Views on Judicial Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
Hamiltons Views on Judicial Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/law/1521223-hamiltons-views-on-judicial-power.
“Hamiltons Views on Judicial Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/law/1521223-hamiltons-views-on-judicial-power.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Hamiltons Views on Judicial Power

Articles Published by the Anti-federalist and Federalists

hellip; An emerging theme is the anti-federalists fears that the new constitution places too much power in the federal government and threatens to create civil unrest and division.... However, in rushing the proposed constitution, it was important not to lose sight of the dangers of putting too much power over the entire domain of the country into the hands of so few.... For example the new constitution confers upon Congress the power to regulate commerce but does not give Congress the authority to borrow money....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

The Concept of Separation in the US

Separation of power in U.... Constitution The concept of separation of power has given rise to a system of checks and balance within United States government.... Due to separation of power in American constitution, the federal government in U.... On the other hand, judiciary is vested with the power of evaluating how the law is interpreted.... It is important to note that the notion behind separation of power also provides one branch a leverage or supremacy over other to ensure that no branch supersedes others and also there is no abuse of powers....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Jeffersons and Hamiltons Differences

rdquo; Article 3 places the “judicial power of the United States in one Supreme Court”.... rdquo; Article 2 vests “the executive power.... The framers of the Constitution believed the Separation of Powers to be essential “because a concentration of political power is inherently dangerous and will sooner or later lead to the abuse of power and to oppressive government” (McClelland, Part 1V B).... The functioning of the three branches of the federal government - the legislative, the executive and the judicial - are clearly demarcated and separated....
3 Pages (750 words) Article

Differences Between Jefferson and Hamilton Schools

Furthermore, the essay discusses the division of power in the American Constitution as an introduction to the government system in America.... This view is further disregarded by Jefferson through another counter-argument that every form of government is corruptible and giving such power to limited individuals makes rest of the public vulnerable.... Jefferson believes that the division of power between state and national governments would allow citizens to have more control of government's decisions whereas Hamilton recognizes the concept of strong national government....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Political philosophy and the constitution/supreme court

He continues to argue that the power of the court must wholly depend on the assistance of the executive in exercising its judgments.... The reason is that the introduction of scientific public polls that measured public support for the court built an important shift in the balance of political power.... During the Lochner era,… The experience of this era showed how judicial review and judicial independence were based on public opinion....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Historical Evolution of Public Administration in the United States

The current executive branch's strength is attributed to Hamilton who advocated earnestly for the creation of a powerful executive heading a strong government, while on the other hand being limited to avoid abusing the power, thereby intimidating liberty.... This paper analyzes the historical evolution of Public Administration in the United States and discusses the important events in this evolution as well as the people who influenced this process, such as the "founding fathers" Hamilton, Roosevelt, Wilson, Madison, and Jefferson amongst others....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

The Power of Judicial

Opponents of judicial review cite Section II, Article III of the Constitution as not saying a power to review had been granted since what this section contains is merely a mention of judicial power (but not judicial review powers) while its advocates cite legal precedence in this regard.... This paper tackles the power of judicial review presumably granted to the U.... his power serves as a check-and-balance to prevent the government from abusing its powers....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Comparison of Federalist Paper 78 and Brutus XI

Secondly, there is the disallowing of influence from another branch of government from imposing on judicial decisions.... Most of the discussion revolved around the power and functions which are held by the judiciary.... The facts from Brutus show the extent of power by the system in pressuring the government in a manner to give in to their commands since they have sovereign power without any regulation.... He further refers to the judges as the weakest branch in the government with the least power that falls beneath the powers and political rights of the Constitution....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us