Judicial Review and Democracy

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at how the unrestrained power of judicial review not only fits into a democratic society, but also helps protect democracy and liberty in America. The paper explains exactly what judicial review means, how it works today, and why it is a necessity in a country that wants to preserve the ideals of liberty and personal freedom.

From the Paper:

"The basic premise of democracy is the idea of one man, one vote. However, in large societies, the idea of one man, one vote, necessarily becomes diluted because it is impracticable. In fact, one would not expect a country the size of the United States to be a true democracy, but a representative government. Furthermore, the idea of a republican government strains the concept of democracy further; to balance state's rights and the rights of all of the nation's citizens, the framers of the Constitution came up with the concept of an Executive branch that represents the will of the nation and a Legislative branch that represents the will of the states. However, that does not explain the third branch of the Federal government. The Judicial Branch, with its almost unfettered power to overturn legislation by both the Executive and Legislative Branches. How does a judiciary with almost unrestrained power fit into a democratic society? It does not, and yet judicial review may be almost single-handedly responsible for the preservation of democracy, and more importantly, liberty in America."

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