Introduction
When the Founding Fathers set up our form of government, relatively little thought was given to the judicial branch. From early on, the Framers considered the courts to possess the least amount of authority in a democratic republican society. In The Federalist papers, Alexander Hamilton noted that the legislative power was by far the most predominant, whereas the judicial branch was by far the weakest of the three branches of government (Paulsen, 1994, p. 229). Today, however, the judicial branch has grown increasingly influential in shaping policy on a national level. Given the tremendous policy-making authority the Supreme Court ...