Has a SCOTUS decision ever been overturned ?

[Catchawave]

Just wondering why their decision in 2000 selecting Bush in the first place...wasn't...or couldn't be challenged ?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Dred Scott Decision

I believe the Dred Scott decision of ca 1859 was overturned after the Civil War. And certainly Brown v Board of Education invalidated Plessy vs Ferguson, which deemed "seperate but equal" was ok.

[NoPasaran]

18. I'm not so sure that Dred Scott was actually overturned

I think it rendered moot by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments abolishing slavery and extending the equal protection of the law.

[RoyGBiv]

20. You are correct n/t

[mattclearing]

2. It can only be overturned by itself (Supreme Court) or an act of Congress.

[Catchawave]

4. Thanks.....

Though I'm not sure why the Supremes would take the side of the Electoral College and not the popular vote in 2000 ?

[TheWraith]

7. Sandra Day O'Conner wanted to retire under a Republican.

So that Shrub would name her replacement.

[Catchawave]

15. Obviously.....!!

Damn that ROve :grr:

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Congress has no power to overrule the Supreme Court

The best Congress can do is review the rationales for a ruling, then pass new legislation that circumvents those rationales.

[benburch]

9. Of course, Congress can initiate a amendment to the Constitution.

Which the States must severally ratify.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. That would not overrule a Supreme Court decision

What would likely happen (there is no precedent that I can think of) is that, after the amendment was ratified, challenges to the ruling would appear in the court system and eventually wend their way to the Supreme Court, who would be forced to issue a ruling in line with the updated version of the Constitution. But an amendment itself does not change what has already been ruled.

[benburch]

13. Yes it most certainly would!

Supreme court interprets the Constitution. Change that and their previous rulings are void.

[TechBear_Seattle]

17. And the Court OVERTURNS LAWS THAT VIOLATE THE CONSTITUTION

Once a law has been declared unconstitutional, it will never be constitutional until the Court itself overturns its own decision, no matter how often the same law is passed again.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

21. an amendment to the CONSTITUTION

cannot be UNCONSTITUTIONAL...period. Think about it...

subjectProdigal

OnEdit: ReReading this section...my statement stands...but in the end we agree with each other...

[RoyGBiv]

24. Rendered moot ...

I think y'all are bogged down in a battle of rhetoric.

In technical terms, a constitutional amendment that addresses a SCOTUS ruling renders that ruling moot, which in point of fact has an even more dramatic impact on its influence than the ruling being overturned. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, for example, rendered moot dozens of US laws and SCOTUS decisions.

[Catchawave]

10. Which means with an Alito Confirmation.....

We're Fu*ked? I guess I would feel better if we had a bipartisan vetting process in place before we (either side of the aisle) make any more of these "lifetime" appointments.

[TechBear_Seattle]

12. If Alito is confirmed, he is on the Court for life and "good behavior"

See Article III, Section 1, clause 2 of the United States Constitution. He can be impeached, but that's it.

If he is appointed by executive fiat during a recess of Congress (as I expect will happen if his confirmation is blocked), Alito will automatically be out at the end of the Congress where he was appointed, ie towards the end of next January if he gets appointed during the summer recess. If he is appointed by fiat after the next Congress convenes in January 2007, he will be on the bench for two full years. In either case, he can be retroactively confirmed by the Senate and allowed to remain permanently.

[mattclearing]

14. Not true. The Supreme Court is bound by existing law.

The Congress can overrule the Supreme Court by writing new law. Then the Supreme Court can hear challenges to that.

[TechBear_Seattle]

16. Congress can pass an identical law. That does not overturn a Court ruling

The previous ruling remains in effect. I recall a few times where abortion laws were de facto unconstitutional the moment they were signed, as they were identical to a law that had already been struck down.

[mattclearing]

23. If they are found to be in violation of the Constitution, yes.

But if the legislation is a change to the U.S. Code, the Supreme Court is bound by it, so long as it is not found to violate the Constitution.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Who's going to challenge it? SC is the supreme authority.

A SC ruling can be overturned by a later court, e.g., Dred Scott, but the only way a sitting court could be overturned is if the members had second thoughts and said "Hoo boy did we fuck up with that one". Even then, there would have to be a case brought before them to rule on.

[never_get_over_it]

6. The Supreme Court is the LAST STOP

so Bush v. Gore could never be overturned - that is why Al Gore had to throw in the towel. The only way a Supreme Corut case can be overturned is to have another similar case come before it ending with a different decision. Congress could pass new law which might just end up before Supreme Court again anyway and the Constitution could be amended why some pro-birth folks are so anxious to have the Constitution amended to outlaw abortion.

All Supreme Court cases can and usually are used as precedents for future cases - interesting thing about Bush v. Gore and what proves IT WAS ABSOLUTELY BOGUS - was that the decision specifically stated that this decision could not be used as precedent.....I believe all five justices who made that decision should have been impeached and removed....but that would never happen - and two of them are gone now anyway

[Innocent Smith]

8. Yes

Many times.

[CTLawGuy]

19. yes

1. Plessy v. Ferguson: separate but equal is fair / Brown v. Board: separate is not equal.

2. Bowers v. Hardwick: there is no privacy right to engage in Sodomy/ Lawrence v. Texas: there is a privacy right.

3. Lochner v. New York: there is a liberty of contract which means the government cannot regulate labor and business practices/ West Coast Hotel v. Parrish: liberty of contract is not absolute and the government may regulate working conditions and business practices.

and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

22. Depends on what you mean

A SCOTUS decision in a particular case is pretty much set in stone, and can only be changed by a rehearing by SCOTUS itself -- this, to my knowledge, has never happened.

Now, is the process of deciding a particular case, SCOTUS will expound upon and interpret the law, and it is these interpretations that guide the rest of us for future cases. These interpretations may be overridden in a number of ways -- first, in SCOTUS cases striking down statutes for whatever reason, the statutes may simply be rewritten and passed again to eliminate the problem. Alternately, there could be a Constitutional amendment, as others here have pointed out. Finally, SCOTUS has been known to overturn its prior holdings, as for example Brown v. Board of Education overturned the holding in Plessy v. Ferguson. While these would have the effect of changing the law for future parties, though, they would not affect the parties in the case that led to the original holdings.