AP US Government — the federal courts, Federalist 78 and precedent

The judiciary takes up four topics of Unit 2 in AP United States Government and Politics: its constitutional foundation in Article III and Federalist No. 78, the role of precedent, the debate that life tenure invites, and the ways the other branches can limit the Court. This material covers all four, plus the working machinery students need in order to read any case: how it reaches the Supreme Court and which opinion in it counts.

The quiz starts with the path of a case: a citizen suing a federal agency begins in a district court with original jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court takes a case only when four justices vote to grant certiorari. Next it asks which opinions bind, using two justices in a 6-to-3 majority who write separately and so produce a concurrence, not a holding. It then turns to precedent: why the Court sometimes overrules it, and how three new appointments can lead to a long-standing decision falling. Federalist No. 78 is used for the judiciary's "neither force nor will" and for what life tenure is for. Two judges' descriptions of their approach are sorted into activism and restraint as the course framework defines them. The Sixteenth Amendment shows an amendment overriding the Court's 1895 income tax ruling, Franklin Roosevelt's 1937 court-packing plan and United States v. Nixon show the Court's place in checks and balances, and the solicitor general's role finishes the set.

The flashcards cover jurisdiction, certiorari, the rule of four, stare decisis, activism and restraint, amicus briefs and the key cases.

The written work asks for eight explanations: the structure of the federal courts and the two kinds of jurisdiction; how a case reaches the Supreme Court; stare decisis and why the Court sometimes departs from it; Hamilton's case for independence and the debate over life tenure; the checks the other branches and the states hold over the Court; activism and restraint with the argument for each; United States v. Nixon; and how interest groups and the solicitor general try to influence the Court, and why its decisions are still independent.

The oral exam asks you to trace a case, apply Federalist No. 78 or identify a check on the Court, one question at a time.

No current justice is named. Where the Court's role is disputed (activism and restraint, life tenure, overruling precedent, the size of the Court), the arguments on each side are given as their supporters make them.

• Describe the federal court system and original versus appellate jurisdiction
• Explain certiorari, the rule of four and the difference between majority, concurring and dissenting opinions
• Explain stare decisis and why precedent is sometimes overruled
• Explain Federalist No. 78's case for judicial independence and the debate over life tenure
• Distinguish judicial activism from judicial restraint fairly
• Describe the checks on the Supreme Court, including amendments, appointments and jurisdiction

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the College Board AP United States Government and Politics Course and Exam Description (course framework effective fall 2026), Unit 2 topics 2.8 to 2.11 and the required foundational document Federalist No. 78.