ABSTRACT

The Supreme Court has become a major policy maker. The Court made policy from its first decision even when it wore the accurate moniker, “the least dangerous branch.” But as the central government increasingly grew in power and authority, its branches had a concomitant growth of power. Congress was institutionally unable to sustain its collective responsibilities, enhancing the power of the president and the Court who willingly stepped into the breach, so the stakes became enormous. When the Court had the power and the willingness to exercise it, the desire to monitor and check its policy gambols became more imperative.