POSC Lecture 5 - POSC – Lecture 5 The reason we are...

POSC – Lecture 5
The reason we are reading cases is that we are trying to distill what the law
is.
• Martin V. Lessee
• Cohen brothers case
o
Even though we haven’t briefed them, those 2 WILL be on
test.
Doctrines of Justiciabilty
• Gatekeeper provision.
• Common law doctrines that stop cases from being heard in the
court system.
•
Why would we have doctrines of justiciability?
o
Preserve judicial resources.
o
Separation of powers and Checks and balances

There has to a preservation of these two doctrines. You
don’t want the court to start resolving everything. Our
system is build upon the premise that every branch of
govt has its own duty.
o
Designed to ensure that the court only addresses the best
cases to resolve the issue.

Better for precedent.
o
Designed to promote fairness.
Originalism (AKA Interpretation) – Judges are limited to the text of the
constitution or the intent of the framers of the constitution.
•
Anything beyond that is beyond the judicial prerogative.