WORKING WITH SOURCES THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY
As mentioned in the text, federal jurists serve life terms and can leave lasting
legacies for the presidents who appointed them. This is especially true at the
U.S. Supreme Court, whose decisions and opinions guide the entire federal
judiciary. To learn more, go to www.oyez.org and click on the Justices link. You
can click on any of the justices to get biographical information, such as how long
they served, which president appointed them, and other information. Note the
length of time that these justices served on the Court. Another way to examine
the Court’s influence on public policy is to look at a series of cases dealing with a
particular public policy issue—for example, abortion or affirmative action in uni–
versity admission. From the front page of the site, under Cases, select Issue from
the View by: menu and then Privacy. You will see a few choices, one of which is
abortion and contraceptives. Some of the cases you may want to examine are
Roe v. Wade, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, and Planned Parenthood
of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey.
• How has the Court’s position on this issue changed since 1973?
• Note that former chief justice William H. Rehnquist was involved in all
three of these cases over this twenty-year period. Was he ever in the majority? Did his views change?
• What have been the issues in more recent cases addressing abortion, and how did the Court rule? How do these rulings affect abortion rights?
