Illegal means that a given activity by a person, group, or organization violates a law. Unconstitutional means that a law violates conditions laid down in the constitution, and therefore is not a law and is not enforceable… as applied by the independent judiciary, all the way up to the supreme court.
Q. How is nullification used in the policymaking process?
Nullification often begins with members of your state legislature declaring a federal act unconstitutional and then committing to resist its implementation. In this case, it is quite simply a refusal on the part of your state government to cooperate with, or enforce a particular federal law it deems unconstitutional.
Q. What happens when the Constitution is violated?
When the proper court determines that a legislative act or law conflicts with the constitution, it finds that law unconstitutional and declares it void in whole or in part.
Q. Can a law challenged as unconstitutional be overridden?
Can a law challenged a unconstitutional be overridden? The ruling of the supreme court cannot be over ride.
Q. Which branch of government controls the money?
The legislative branch is made up of the House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative branch makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies.
Q. How does the court decide which cases to hear?
Typically, the Court hears cases that have been decided in either an appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals or the highest Court in a given state (if the state court decided a Constitutional issue). The Supreme Court has its own set of rules. According to these rules, four of the nine Justices must vote to accept a case.
Q. Does the chief justice decide what cases to hear?
The chief justice presides over the Court’s public sessions and also presides over the Court’s private conferences, where the justices decide what cases to hear and how to vote on the cases they have heard.
Q. Who should hear cases?
What needs to happen for your case to be heard by the Supreme Court? In order for the case to be heard, four justices must agree to hear the case. This is known as the Rule of Four. If four justices vote to hear the case, then the court grants certiorari and it is placed onto the court’s docket.
Q. What do Supreme Court justices look for when deciding which cases to hear?
The Supreme Court receives about 10,000 petitions a year. The Justices use the “Rule of Four” to decide if they will take the case. If four of the nine Justices feel the case has value, they will issue a writ of certiorari. When all is said and done the Supreme Court will hear about 75-85 cases a year.
Q. Why does the Supreme Court hear so few cases?
The Supreme Court usually only hears cases that would resolve a conflict of law, cases that are important, cases involving prior Supreme Court decisions that were disregarded by the lower courts and cases that the justices find interesting. If the justices decide to hear a case, a writ of certiorari is issued.
Q. What circumstances does a case need before the Supreme Court?
A case must involve an issue of federal law or otherwise fall within the jurisdiction of federal courts. A case that involves only an issue of state law or parties within a state will likely stay within the state court system where that state’s supreme court would be the last step.
Q. How Long Will Supreme Court hearing last?
Unless otherwise noted, the Court generally hears two, one-hour oral arguments, with attorneys for each side of a case given 30 minutes to make a presentation to the Court and answer questions posed by the Justices. These sessions are open to the public. The Court convenes for a session in the Courtroom at 10 a.m.
Q. Are Supreme Court hearings broadcast?
(CNN) The Supreme Court is broadcasting live audio of oral arguments for the first time Monday, as they hear cases via teleconference. And also broadcasting it live, which the court has never done.
