Politics and the judiciary 233the place of the Court in a democracy? How is it that nine unelected judges
with life tenure can wield this power in the most election-conscious nation
in the world? Undoubtedly, the Court has been able to exercise a degree of
leadership, because of its prestige and its relative aloofness from the hurly-
burly of political life. Nevertheless, the power of the Court depends in the
last resort upon its success in refashioning the rules of the Constitution in
a way that the informed public, and in particular those who are responsible
for the operation of the machinery of government, are prepared to accept. To
some extent the Court, like other parts of the system of government, moder-
ates its policies when they meet fierce opposition or when its own position is
seriously threatened. After each of the Court’s periods of controversial activ-
ism it has, to a greater or lesser degree, retreated from its most exposed po-
sitions and made its judgements more palatable. However, the explanation
of the Court’s power is not to be found simply in terms of its ability to gauge
public opinion accurately. Its role has to be seen in the general context of the
pluralist political system of the United States. The Court is able to exercise
its power because it rarely comes squarely into conflict with a truly united
opposition, either inside or outside the formal institutional structure of gov-
ernment. Such a coalition of interests determined to attack the Court has
not yet had the continuity or cohesion that would be required to put through
the legislation or constitutional amendment that would be necessary to curb
the Court. Every attack that has been made upon the Court so far has been
based upon the current dissatisfactions of those outraged by its decisions, but
they have not overcome the reservations of the rest of the community who
fear the long-term results of reducing the Court’s power. Many of the prob-
lems that the Court is able to tackle appear to be quite intractable as far as
actions by the more overtly political branches are concerned. Thus the Court
remains, and is likely to remain, at the centre of the policy-making process
in the United States.
Further reading
McKeever, R.J. (1995) Raw Judicial Power? The Supreme Court and American Society, 2nd
edn, Manchester: Manchester University Press.
McKeever, R.J. (1997) The United States Supreme Court: A Political and Legal Analysis,
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
O’Brien, D.M. (2005) Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics, 11th edn, New
York: Norton.
Websites
Cornell Law School: http://supct.law.cornell.edu
FindLaw: http://www.findlaw.com
Supreme Court Reports: http://www.supremecourtus.gov