methods used to analyze domestic and international public policies

Paper details:

Although many would not think of them as policymakers, the courts play a vital role in the process by interpreting the policy decisions made by others. Federal justices serve life terms and can leave lasting legacies for the presidents who appointed them. This is especially true at the U.S. Supreme Court; whose decisions and opinions guide the entire federal judiciary. The courts often have the last word on policy – thus the intense political debate that occurs, particularly when filling a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Instructions: The purpose of this Assignment is to focus on comparing and contrasting different modes of reasoning by the members of the federal judiciary. Go to the https://www.oyez.org/ website and click on the Justices link. You can click on any of the justices to get biographical information, such as how long they served, which president appointed them, and other information. Note who appointed the Justice and the length of time that these justices served on the Court. From each justice’s site, you can click on Opinions to read the arguments written by individual justices. Another way to examine the Court’s influence on public policy is to look at a series of cases dealing with a particular public policy issue — for example, abortion. From the homepage, click on the search bar on the top right corner and search for the cases you may want to examine such as Roe v. Wade, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Consider how the Court’s position on this issue has changed since 1973. (For example, note that former chief justice William H. Rehnquist was involved in all three of the cases mentioned above over a twenty-year period. Was he ever in the majority? Did his views change?) After reading the example cases, you should write a 3–5-page paper: Select two decided cases on the same public policy issue and compare and contrast the majority opinion with the minority dissent for both cases. Does the length of time that someone has served on the Court matter? Does public opinion influence the opinions of the Justices? Has the Court’s opinion changagned on the issue over time?