The Politics and the Supreme Court of the United States

• Main Author: Wagner Silveira Feloniuk
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós-graduação em Direito (CONPEDI) 2015-12-01
• Series: Revista de Teorias e Filosofias do Estado
• Subjects: Suprema corte dos estados unidos; Direito constitucional norte-americano; Tribunal constitucional; Partidos políticos; Política
• Online Access: http://www.indexlaw.org/index.php/revistateoriasfilosofias/article/view/770
• ISSN: 2525-9652; 2525-9652

The Supreme Court of the United States is analyzed in the search of political influence. Influences by it are pointed in American society through its actions and judges. Since its foundation in 1789, court decisions decisively marked the division of powers, civil rights and many other fundamental topics in the American Federation. The role of the interpreting the Constitution has put the court in position of great relevance in the resolution of disputes. And, for the exercise of this role, the court has been in constant contact with ideologies and political interests that have had influences over it. These influences become more visible during periods of appointments and retirements, but are still detected by researches that analyze the justices with their profiles in the press, decided cases or relationships between cases and positions of presidents and senates that have chosen the members of the court. The data show a court that acts politically and is heavily influenced by political agents of other branches, as required by the institutional system of the United States, and which has advanced in the direction of allowing the society to be relevant to its behavior, ensuring that citizens participate in the composition of the court and its decisions.