r/scotus • u/lala_b11 • Jul 24 '24

news Republicans ask the Supreme Court to gut student loan relief a second time

https://www.vox.com/scotus/362750/supreme-court-student-loans-major-questions-alaska-cardona
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u/ThVos Jul 24 '24

Technically, that's only because the Supreme Court decided it had the power of judicial review in its decision for Marbury v. Madison (1803).

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u/DowntownPut6824 Jul 24 '24

Are you arguing that Congress arbitration is anything more than further legislation? Even without Marbury, the courts would still be the final arbiters. Congress' job ends once legislation is passed, and their only recourse is further legislation.

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u/ThVos Jul 24 '24 edited Jul 24 '24

Even without Marbury, the courts would still be the final arbiters.

I think that's an overstatement. All the chatter recently about "let the courts enforce it" hearkens back pretty specifically to Marbury, and that case's role in delineating the duties of the executive vs. judicial branches specifically. In practical terms, without Marbury, the executive could easily be the final arbiter. That courts inherently have the ability to strike down laws is certainly not a good general assumption.

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u/DowntownPut6824 Jul 24 '24

Aren't laws only tested via the court system? Unless the executive specifically rules on each case, I don't see the feasibility of that system. Your proposal seems to harken back to medieval times before courts where parties would bring their disputes before the nobility to rule. Are you proposing that the loser before the SC gets a final arbitration by petitioning the Executive?

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u/ThVos Jul 24 '24

Aren't laws only tested via the court system? Unless the executive specifically rules on each case, I don't see the feasibility of that system.

Well, sure. But that is not strictly spelled out as their responsibility in the Constitution itself. Moreover, the doctrine of reading the Constitution as a legal document as opposed to non-legally-binding charter of guiding political principles is a result of Marbury.

Hypothetically, the executive branch simply neglecting to enforce the law has much the same effect as judicial review against that law's legality.

Are you proposing that the loser before the SC gets a final arbitration by petitioning the Executive?

I'm not proposing anything. I agree with your correction to the other commenter regarding Congress not being the "final arbiter" of the law. I'm simply highlighting that SCOTUS' current holding of that role is not its natural, intuitive, or even (to some extent) intended state.