U.S. Politics and Government in Comparative Perspective

Quiz 1 In U.S. v Nixon case the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against President Nixon’s claim of executive privilege.  Currently, former president Trump is attempting to use executive privilege to stop the Biden administration from releasing communications regarding the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol (article below). What did the SCOTUS find in the US v Nixon case?  What criteria did the court use to reach its conclusion? Do you believe President Trump is shielded by executive privilege as he claims, or is the Biden administration correct in releasing communications related to a criminal and congressional investigation? For Full-Credit You must fully expand on what the SCOTUS found in US v Nixon, complete with citations (80%) Weigh in on the contemporary debate between Trump and Biden; which side do you think is protected by the constitution? (20%) Quiz 2 Throughout the course you have been asked to “Consider” critical issues and asked to contemplate their impact and possible outcomes. For quiz 4 you are being asked to expand upon some of the open-ended questions I that have been posed over the semester. For Full-Credit Responses may be open-ended, data-based and cited.  You must support your argument with information from the class: texts, slides, lectures, etc.  Your response should be 2-3 paragraphs.  You are not required to interact with your peers, but it is encouraged! Choose one of the following considerations to weigh in on:

1. Does having to run for a judgeship make judges more likely to issue harsher sentences in order to seem “tough”? Does running for a judgeship weaken the institution by politicizing it?
2. Since democracy is designed to resolve political issues through elections and influence, why do some resort to political violence to express their grievances?  Assess one recent example of political violence within American history, expand on what it’s causes were, what the ooutcome of the event was and attempt to balance multiple viewpoints on the issue.
3. Why do you believe there has never been a major socialist movement in the country? Why do you believe there is surge of interest in socialism today? What do you think the prospects are for social democracy in a future American society?
4. The last attempt to add justices was FDR, whose failed 1937 initiative was lamented as “Court Packing” . Although not unconstitutional, is adding justices to the SCOTUS a legally dangerous or unethical move? If so, explain why. If not, explain why.