Foreign Policy and the Constitution #3: The Judicial Branch

My one college semester of constitutional law didn’t earn my highest grade. I didn’t realize we were supposed to know Supreme Court cases as well as the Constitution itself. For the judicial branch in particular, the Constitution says remarkably little. Judicial power extends to cases arising under the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties. Specifics lie mostly in cases and precedents.

The Supreme Court avoids taking sides in issues of foreign policy. It refuses some cases on technical grounds, such as who brought the case or where. On birthright citizenship, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, for now the Court will rule only on whether a judge trying one  case can issue a nationwide injunction. If not, apparently every newborn must bring a separate lawsuit while the earlier case proceeds.

​What happens when a president disobeys a judicial order? The Supreme Court can issue injunctions, sanction officials, declare them in contempt, and impose fines or even arrest. But enforcement depends on federal marshals, who serve under the president. In Alexander Hamilton’s words, the judiciary holds neither the purse nor the sword. Its power lies entirely in an abiding respect for the rule of law, by nearly all Americans regardless of party. It’s up to us, the public, to insist our elected representatives uphold that respect.