What role has the Supreme Court played in terms of enhancing or inhibiting democracy?

1. What role has the Supreme Court played in terms of enhancing or inhibiting democracy? What are some important cases that it has taken up? What were its decisions and the logic behind those decisions? How and when has it used judicial review to challenge the policies of the other branches?

2. Pick one of the issues involving civil rights and civil liberties that we have discussed (right to free speech or press; freedom of religion; rights of the accused; right to privacy; affirmative action, etc.) and describe and analyze the history of US policy in this area. What have been the important cases that have been decided or policies implemented? What was the reasoning behind them? Have these policies enhanced or inhibited democracy? Should the government’s policy change? Why or why not?
4. Why was the Constitutional Convention called? What issues did they take up at the Convention? What were the differences between populous and less populous states? What compromises were worked out? Why were these compromises necessary?