Transcript
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WE THE PEOPLE JUDGE: Please have a seat, everybody. We’re delighted to be here with Southwest Career Technical Academy. Could you focus for me a little bit on what protects the independence of the judiciary under our Constitution?
ELI: It is scary going first because you are like oh my gosh, you are just scrambling to get an answer out.
ELI (DURING WE THE PEOPLE SESSION): The judicial branch is seen as a nonpartisan, independent form of government, although that sometimes is slightly disregarded.
STUDENT: The landmark court case Marbury v. Madison established the judiciary plays a large, branch ehm –the judiciary branch plays a large role, uh, in all future cases.
ETHAN: We are all working towards the same goal and we literally share our points. You know, somebody’s else’s failure is our failure as well somebody’s else’s success is our success.
ELI: It’s just the matter of not even who tried the hardest but how the judges perceive it, how did the judges receive it.
WE THE PEOPLE JUDGE: Are you ready? Do you think that law enforcement should be given certain latitude with respect to 4th amendment issues?
STUDENT: During this week there was a mass shooting at U.N.L.V. and I feel like government officials like police they should have a bit more power for the safety of their students and of the community overall.
ETHAN: Having my dad at the competition was a lot of pressure because I really want to show him everything I know. But you really never know what kinds of questions the judges are going to ask.
WE THE PEOPLE JUDGE: Let me ask you this. Has the power of judicial review gone too far and been too unrestrained?
ETHAN (DURING WE THE PEOPLE SESSION): The power of judicial review has gone too far. We have reached a point in our country where Supreme Court justices’ interpretations of the Constitution tend to align with their political ideology. This is completely contradictory to the original intention of the framers under the Constitution.
WE THE PEOPLE JUDGE: Do you believe that the president should be able to pardon himself and/or his family members as part of that power?
ETHAN (DURING WE THE PEOPLE SESSION): Absolutely not. While, while, there is no explicitly stated wording in the Constitution, this definitely undermines the original intentions of the founders when creating that presidential power. This would definitely undermine the rule of law and decrease the trust of voters in our country.
(END)
Citizen Nation: Exploring Judicial Independence
Students tackle tough questions on the judiciary’s role in democracy.
At Southwest Career Technical Academy in Las Vegas, high school students engage in a mock congressional hearing, answering challenging questions on judicial independence and constitutional powers. Topics span judicial review, the Fourth Amendment and presidential pardons as students examine the judiciary’s role in protecting democracy.
This is an excerpt from ‘Citizen Nation,’ a four-part coming-of-age story that follows teenagers from across the U.S. with diverse personal and political backgrounds as they come together to compete in the nation’s premier civics competition, We the People. Watch the full hour or watch the series.
The resources were funded in part by the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics Award from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
The We the People program is conducted by the Center for Civic Education.
- Series Creator: Bret Sigler
- Director: Singeli Agnew
- Supervising Producer: Veronika Adaskova
- Series and Episode Lead Editor: Jane Joe
- Field Producer: Emily Orr
- Field Producer: Wesley Harris
- Line Producer: Tom Brown
- Line Producer: Victor Couto
- Associate Producer: Cole Cahill
- Post Production Supervisor: Cullen Golden
Grades
9-12
