Courts and policy
... to increase the number of justices on the Court to add ones who would be sympathetic to his New Deal. The Warren Court was very active in shaping public policy especially in the area of school segregation and rights of criminal defendants. The Burger Court followed the principal of strict constructionism. The Burger Court ordered President Nixon to turn White House tapes over to the courts, hastening his resignation (United States v. Nixon, 1974). The present Court, the Rehnquist Court, has not created a revolution in constitutional law. It has limited rather than reversed rights established by liberal decisions such as those regarding defendants’ rights and abortion. The Courts and Democracy In some ways, the courts are not a very democratic institution, but the courts are not entirely independent of popular preferences and are not as insulated from the normal forms of politics as one might think. Courts can also promote pluralism. When groups go to court, they use litigation to achieve their policy objectives. What Courts Should Do: The Scope of Judicial Power Courts make policy on both large and small issues. Many scholars and judges favor a policy of judicial restraint, in which judges adhere closely to precedent and play minimal policymaking roles, leaving policy decisions strictly to the legislatures. Judicial activism or restraint is not the same as liberalism or conservatism. Federal courts have developed a doctrine of political questions as a means to avoid deciding some cases, principally those regarding conflicts between the president and Congres...