Learning Activity: Common Misconceptions About the Supreme Court
Diana Hess, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has written an excellent article that clarifies six common misconceptions about the duties and powers of the United States Supreme Court. (See: Diane E. Hess, "Identifying and Teaching against Misconceptions: Six Common Mistakes about the Supreme Court," Social Education, October 2006, pp. 337-342. www.socialstudies.org or http://members.ncss.org/se/7006/700606337.pdf)
While the article was written for teachers, the information can be simplified and summarized for students. The article highlights the following common mistakes about the role of the United States Supreme Court:
- the limits of the United States Constitution’s reach
- the purposes and roles of the United States Supreme Court
- the Supreme Court’s role in correcting “errors” made by lower courts
- the kinds of cases the Supreme Court considers and why it accepts those cases
- the Supreme Court always gets the “right” answer (Discuss with students Robert Jackson’s remark: “We [the Supreme Court] are not final because we are infallible [incapable of error], but we are infallible only because we are final.”)
- the Supreme Court and popular pressure from special interest groups.
After discussing these common misconceptions with students, have them write a news article focusing on one or two of them. Have students explain how the Supreme Court serves as one branch of government, equal to the executive and legislative branches, yet with the power of judicial review. Students should describe the importance of the separation of powers and explain how the system of checks and balances operates.