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Whenever the U.S. Supreme Court exercises the power of judicial review, is doing so more likely to benefit the interests of popular majorities in...

When the Supreme Court of the United States exercises its power of judicial review, it is more likely to benefit the interests of the less popular groups in the country.  To understand why this is so, let us think about what happens when the Court exercises this power.


When the Court engages in judicial review it invalidates a law that has been passed by Congress and signed by the president. So what does that tell us about this question?  Is a law that has been passed by Congress and signed by the President (or by a legislature and signed by a state governor) more likely to represent what the powerful want or what the less popular groups want?  The answer is that such laws typically represent what the popular majority wants.


Laws do not generally pass Congress (or a state legislature) if they are not acceptable to popular majorities. The legislative branches are set up so that they will respond to the will of the people.  The will of the people is usually the same as the will of the popular majorities.  Therefore, laws that pass through this process usually reflect what popular majorities want.


Think about times in our history when the Supreme Court has made famous decisions.  Recently, there was the decision that made same-sex marriage legal. This supported the rights of a less popular group.  Think much further back to the time when the Supreme Court said that racial segregation was illegal. This, too, helped a less popular group. Not all decisions by the Court are like this, but in general, the Supreme Court helps less popular groups when it exercises its power of judicial review.

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