Learning Objectives

By reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:

15.1 Explore the role of politics in modern Supreme Court confirmation proceedings.

15.2 Describe the structure and powers of the federal judiciary as laid out in the Constitution.

15.3 Explain John Marshall’s development of judicial review in the Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison.

15.4 Describe the structure of the American legal system and the federal judiciary.

15.5 Compare theories of judicial decision making as well as arguments for or against judicial restraint and activism in constitutional review.