Question

The legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. Which branch is the most powerful? Do you think the checks and balances among these three branches should be the way they are? Why or why not? A good answer will support their argument with evidence and explanation.

Answer 1

In the age since Taney, the Supreme Court has taken an ability to be an interpreter of the Constitution in such a way as to make it the final arbiter of the contract which defines its own power. Neither the president nor the Congress has that authority, and amending the constitution by the legislature requires ratification by 3/4 of the states. The Supreme Court can effectively re-write the Constitution with only a 5-4 vote.

Moreover, while only one Justice has ever been impeached, he was acquitted (as were Johnson and Clinton) and no Justice has been impeached in over 200 years. Both Nixon and Fortas were driven from office (and in a short period of time), but the Fortas resignation was only a ninth of the total bench, while the resignation of Nixon following the resignation of Agnew means that the entire enumerated branch was successfully driven from office for corruption within the space of a single term.

As for congress, it was initially intended and assumed to be the most powerful, but today they tend to hope the SCOTUS will make the hard but politically inexpedient choices, thus freeing them from needing to take a stand. They have been delegating their powers more and more to the President. In all, the powers that be favor reducing power to preserve tenure of incumbents, and thus Congress has abnegated most of its authority, as when they decided to punt on the question of Iraq and then blame Bush when he used that authority, as though they had no responsibility to safeguard that power.

The Government was set up with three “co-equal” branches.

However, as in life, nothing is equal.

The branches are the Executive (President), The legislative (Congress) and the Judicial (Courts)

Congress can pass a proposed Law - the President has to sign it for it to actually become a law. The President wins on this one.

But, if the President Vetoes it, it goes back to Congress. They can over ride his veto if enough congress people vote for it!

So Congress wins in that power struggle.

Now the law is on the books. But, several states don’t like the law and sue to stop it. It works it’s way up to the Supreme Court. They make a decision. The President can’t change it. Congress, in theory, could over ride that decision, but it has only happened a handful of times. They cannot change the Court’s decision, but what they do is re-write the law and try again.

The Supreme Court are the Gods of the land. Once they decide an issue, no other power can change that decision. Congress can try another law to go around the Court’s decision, but that new law is subject to the courts review.

No one can overturn or change a Supreme Court decision, except for the Supreme Court!