Limits on Supreme Court Authority

While the Supreme Court is largely independent, its power is not absolute. The political system in which the Court is situated limits its authority in important ways. First and foremost, justices are bound by the Constitution. While some justices have been expansive in their interpretations of the Constitution, they are nonetheless constrained by its precepts. The Court is also institutionally accountable for its actions, especially to the Congress. If its decisions diverge too far from congressional preferences, the Congress can use (and has used on several occasions) a variety of tactics to put pressure on the Court, sometimes even proposing constitutional amendments to force the Court to adopt particular legal views. In less extreme circumstances, the Congress has delayed action on cases by changing the starting date of the Court’s term or even altering the size of the Court.¹⁶

The Court also limits itself by the decisions it makes in cases that come before it. To maintain its legitimacy and to foster consistency in the law, the Court consistently refers and adheres to previous decisions when making judgments in new cases. Although indirectly, public opinion, interest groups, the media, and the opinions of the legal community all influence the decisions made by the Court.

^16.David M. O'Brien, Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1993), 139–41; 392–4.