WEEK 12: The President & the Courts

Little Rock Central High School - 1957

This week we examined the Federal Court System and the Constitutional dimension. Article 3 of the Constitution vests all judicial power in the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts. The president nominates candidates for openings to the 800+ lower-court positions in the U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Courts of Appeals and the nine member U.S. Supreme Court. These are life time positions and all of the presidential nominees must be reviewed and approved by the U.S. Senate. Because Presidents take an oath to defend the Constitution and execute the duties of their office, they have a constitutional duty to see that laws are faithfully executed - not only laws passed by Congress, but also federal court decisions. If U.S. Marshals under the Department of Justice are unable to enforce these laws and decisions of the federal courts, presidents may use Federal troops or call the National Guard to Federal service, or both.

Two examples in the 20th century of Presidents using this power to enforce Federal court decisions occurred in September 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas when Federal troops were called up by President Eisenhower. Click on this Little Rock Nine Documentary for more details.

A second example occurred in 1962 when President Kennedy called out Federal Marshals and then Federal troops so that James Meredith could be enrolled in the University of Mississippi. Click on Deadly Riots at Ol' Miss which outlines events leading up to President Kennedy's decision and the events surrounding the riots at Ole Miss and the shooting of 35 U.S. Marshals precipitating the calling in of Federal troops.

And in May 1970, closer to home, the Governor of Ohio called out the Ohio National Guard to the campus of Kent State University where students protesting the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces, clashed with Ohio National Guardsmen. When Ohio Guardsmen shot and killed four students on May 4, the Kent State Shootings became the focal point across the country for a nation deeply divided by the Vietnam War. See a video of this action by clicking on 1970 Kent State Ohio Shootings.