ABSTRACT

The Supreme Court was established as a judicial body and its formal structures and processes are those of a court of law. However, the acquisition of the power of judicial review transformed the Court. The foundation of the Supreme Courts legal and political power is the American version of the doctrine of judicial review. There are several formal steps through which any Supreme Court case proceeds. The power of judicial review has serious implications for the operation of American democracy. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a group which frequently sponsors litigation on behalf of liberal political causes. Today, judicial traditionalists emphasise that the justices of the Supreme Court must follow the original intentions of those who framed the Constitution. The Supreme Court therefore has a dual nature, part judicial and part political. Its decisions can have a major impact on public policy and its judicial decisionmaking processes require an infusion of political, moral and philosophical reasoning.