In the USA the federal government has three branches of power: Executive – The President, Legislative- the Senate and Judicial – The Supreme Court. Members of Executive and Legislative branches are elected by people, while “members of the Judicial Branch are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate” (the Whitehouse). The Supreme Court is a real power in the USA and it is very important in the public policy arena.
According to the Article 3 of the USA Constitution, “the judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority” (U.S. Constitution). “The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and such number of Associate Justices as may be fixed by Congress” (The Official Website of the Supreme Court of the USA). Since 1869, the number of Associated Justices is eight and each of them has equal voting power. It is interesting to mention, that each justice serves for life.
The Supreme Court has the power to decide what is constitutional and what is not. This fact underlines the significant role that it plays in the USA society. The Supreme Court has two main functions:
“it must interpret and expound all congressional enactments brought before it in proper cases” ( Syllabus, p.15). In this case, the Supreme Court is the final authority in the process of adoption of the law ;
“has power to examine federal and state statutes and executive actions to determine whether they confirm to the U.S. Constitution” ( Syllabus, p.15).
According to this second function, The Supreme Court is able to say to the President that his actions are not allowed by the American Constitution as well as to say that the Congress has violated the law. Moreover, this power of the Supreme Court is not nominal but real. American society is known for its “unprecedented determination to preserve and protect its written Constitution” (The official website of the Supreme Court of the USA). It is necessary to mention, that the American Constitution is the oldest written constitution still in force in the world. This fact makes Americans proud of their Constitution, respect and protect it. All levels of the federal government do the same – respect and protect American Constitution. This is what makes American democracy generally and the Supreme Court in particular unique. Moreover, this is the answer why the Supreme Court is very important in the public policy arena – it has the power to judge President’s and Congress’s decisions according to the Constitution. From this statement comes the fundamental role of the Supreme Court –“to invalidate legislation or executive actions which, in the Court’s considered judgment, conflict with the Constitution” (Syllabus, p. 74). This power is often called "judicial review" and it gives “the Court a crucial responsibility in assuring individual rights, as well as in maintaining the Constitution” (Syllabus, p.74). It is especially important in modern fast changing conditions.
One of the most important decisions made in recent times is The Supreme Court Decision on Health Care Reform. “On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court issued a complicated ruling that upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)” (Cuello, 2013). “The Affordable Care Act actually refers to two separate pieces of legislation — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152)” (Medicaid.gov). Together these tow documents represent Medicaid (also called ObamaAid) that aim to improve health care system for millions of low-income Americans. The main steps of the halth reform are:
“Expand coverage,
Hold insurance companies accountable,
Lower health care costs,
Guarantee more choice, and
Enhance the quality of care for all Americans” (Medicaid.gov).
The Affordable Care Act was very ambiguous for adopting. One of the main problem lies in the fact that this law violates the Congress’s constitutional Spending power. At first, this act anticipated the withdraw of “federal funds from states that failed to expand Medicaid coverage in specified ways” (Cuello, 2013). The Supreme Court found this unconstitutionally to threat the state to lose its medical funding if it fails to “implement the new Medicaid expansion category” (Cuello, 2013). The solution was found. John Roberts, the chief justice, suggested a “remedy to address the coercion by simply invalidating the power of the federal government to withhold all Medicaid funding to a state that doesn’t implement the Medicaid expansion” (Cuello, 2013). In this case, the federal government is able to withhold only Medicaid extension funds. Thanks to this remedy, the ACA was entered into force.
The adoption of the ACA made a lot of noise in the USA. Many people did not support this act. The reason for this lies in the fact, that this act is mainly focused on one category of people – low-income such as “persons of color, LGBT individuals, and individuals with chronic conditions” (Cuello, 2013). All of them will certainly benefit from adopting this act, but middle class Americans are not. The adoption of ACA was the first attempt to view health care as a civil right because the absence of free medicine and the high price of health insurance make health care more a luxury. Moreover, the adoption of the ACA is a good example of the real power of the Supreme Court. It has shown that it could “oppose federal authority despite the fact that federal authority in the United States has, for years, paved the way for significant and long term advances in civil rights” (Cuello, 2013).
In conclusion I would like to say, that the USA is a world “cradle of democracy”. The main reason for this lies in the universal respect for and observance of the Constitution. This fact makes everybody equal before the law and empowers the need to act within the law. Moreover, the law and the authority that protects it, show their flexibility and willingness to change in accordance with the new realities.
References
Official website of the White house. The Judicial branch. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/judicial-branch
Legal Information Institute. U.S. Constitution. Article 3. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleiii
Syllabus, (2012). Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved from http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-393c3a2.pdf
The Official website of the Supreme Court of the USA. The brief overview of the Supreme Court. Retrieved from http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/briefoverview.aspx
Cuello, L. (2013). The Supreme Court Decision on Health Care Reform. Retrieved from http://www.civilrights.org/monitor/march-2013/the-supreme-court-decision-on.html?referrer=http://www.civilrights.org/monitor/march-2013/the-supreme-court-decision-on.html
Medicaid.gov. Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from https://www.medicaid.gov/affordablecareact/affordable-care-act.html
