United States Supreme Court and the Constitution Essay

United States Supreme Court and the Constitution - Essay Example McCloskeys’ thesis is that the decisions of the United States Supreme Court lean congruently with popular American opinion. Some historians have put forth the administrative argument that Chief Justice John Marshall was the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, albeit belies the historical facts. (John Jay from New York was appointed by George Washingron as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of February 15, 1790. Chief Justice Jay was not pleased that he was required to ride circuit and subsequently resigned after a little more than one year (March 5, 1791). The second Chief Justice was also appointed by George Washington, was John Rutledge of South Carolina. Rutledge was tapped to fill the vacancy created by John Jay’s resignation and this appointment occurred during a Congressional recess. When the nomination of Rutledge was presented to the newly convened Congress, they rejected Rutledge’s nomination, primarily based on his pro- sla very positions taken during the Philadelphia Constitutional convention. The third Chief Justice of official record, also nominated by George Washington, was Elliott Ellsworth of Connecticut. Albeit Chief Justice Ellsworth was one of the delegates at the convention in Philadelphia, after he served for four years, he was concerned about the transient court which had no permanent address and the courts image.)... Chief Justice of official record, also nominated by George Washington, was Elliott Ellsworth of Connecticut. Albeit Chief Justice Ellsworth was one of the delegates at the convention in Philadelphia, after he served for four years, he was concerned about the transient court which had no permanent address and the courts image.) The United States Supreme Court did not attain permanence and prestige until the position was assumed by the fourth Chief Justice John Marshall, who truly personified the constitutional concept of permanence and stability, as he sat on the bench from 1801 -1835. During the Marshall era, the Supreme Court was declared the supreme arbiter of the constitution. The first case heard by the court was Marbury v. Madison. In this case Marbury was being denied his commission as the Secretary of the Treasure and he petitioned the Marshall court to grant a writ of mandamus. In his majority opinion, Chief Justice Marshall said that while Marbury was entitled to the commission, the Supreme Court did not have the power to issue a writ of mandamus. This was because the Judiciary Act of 1789, the act written by Congress which authorized the Supreme Court to issue such writs, was unconstitutional. Thus, the court gave up the power to issue writs, but affirmed their power of judicial review, saying that, "if a law written by the legislature conflicts with the constitution, the law is "null and void". (Marbury v Madison) In this case the Marshall court consummated the system of checks and balances. In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) the Marshall court reached a unanimous decision that upheld the authority of Congress to establish a national bank. Chief Justice Marshall

Assess the impact of the Iranian revolution on Middle Eastern politics PowerPoint Presentation

Assess the impact of the Iranian revolution on Middle Eastern politics - PowerPoint Presentation Example Thus, Islamic politics resulted in the regional political culture militarizing and creation of the region instability. Hence, activists with either religion or political agendas were fully convinced that they could use Islam as a strategy of winning (Cottam 1980). This implied that Islam could be employed as a means of radicalizing, politicizing, and mobilization of masses for the purposes of confronting Middle East authoritarian states. Consequently, neighbouring countries suffered instability of their political foundations, especially those with Shiite population, which include Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi. Iran revolution contributed to the emergence of bitter rivalries in the region of Israel. As such, Israel had to observe the activities of Iran, which influenced the policies that Israel adopted. Further, Iran was alienated from other countries, such as Saudi Arabia (Shahi 2009). Since the Middle East is a major source of oil, other governments expressed concerns and anxiety. These governments include the Britain and the United States of America among others. Moreover, the revolution had several events, which contributed towards the emergence of conflicts in the region. An example of this is the attack of Iraq by Iran. The Iranians play a significant role in enforcing their power status in the Middle East politics. As such, Iran supports Hezbollah and Syria. This support has had drastic effects in the region. For example, terrorists groups in Israel can be funded by the regime. The creation of Hezbollah in Lebanon resulted in the alteration of the Lebanese politics and the emergence of Israeli ambitions. This made Iran gain strength and influence, which made the West and East to always consider the nation in case of any Middle Eastern issues. Such depicted global geopolitics changes where there was a West-versus-East scenario in all areas with key players in different areas lining on different sides and having Iran within its circles. The