Judiciary Voicethread Photocube

Photo Cube 1) The picture of the twig reflects the majority of the students' belief that the Founding Fathers did right in making the judiciary the "smallest" branch. However, even though the Constitution was pretty vague in delegating powers, in Marbury v. Madison, the power of judicial review was established, giving the judicial branch more power over the other two branches.

2) The "Keep Calm and Love Number 9" sign shows the students' belief that the current number of justices on the Supreme Court serves its purpose well.

3) The third image I chose was of people shaking hands. This reflects the students' belief that the judicial branch manages to get things done fairly efficiently even though that span the entire political spectra. The image is limited; it doesn't convey the student's belief that the judicial branch is more efficient because there are fewer people (9 vs 535), the process of learning about each court case is relatively simple and they are given ample background information  and briefs, and they are not making laws or anything, they are simply deciding on the constitutionality of the case (which is not anything to be taken lightly; the justices must be acutely aware of the precedent their decision is setting and/or if it is following a precedent previously set.)

4) The image of the Constitution reflects most students' beliefs that the judges' most important duty is to follow the Constitution. There are definitely dissenting opinions: some students claim that moral desirability should be the main guide to a justice's decisions, others who claim practical workability is the most important. However, most students believe that judges should follow the Constitution and practice a thoughtful activism.

5) The evolution of man image loosely relates to the evolution of society (but there was no well-known image for evolution of society that I could think of. Many students believe that justices should make their decisions based off of the current society they live in, not the never-changing Constitution (though that still needs to be applied.)

6) The cartoon image of the three branches of government reflects the overall opinion that the three branches all have checks over each other. Though the students mostly believed the judicial branch to be the weakest branch, they were quick to add that the judicial branch was still powerful. Some students insinuate that they believe that judicial branch is stepping outside of its scope as their decisions stray farther and farther from the original intent of the Constitution; other students believe that justices should base their decisions off of current societal wishes.