The political question doctrine is a legal principle established by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison, first affirming the power of the judicial branch to interpret and overturn conflicting laws. The doctrine states that some constitutional issues are so political that the courts must allow the other branches of government to resolve them since they are outside the realm of the judicial system’s power to interpret.
The doctrine does not provide a clear standard for distinguishing a political question from a legal one but rather sets out certain criteria. Generally, the court can determine a political dispute when: (1) a textually demonstrable constitutional provision exists that provides a non-judicial resolution; (2) a judicially discoverable manageable standard for resolving the question does not exist; (3) the resolution of the question is committed to another branch of government or is not precluded by law; or (4) appropriate preconditions for deciding the question do not exist or cannot be satisfied.
Examples of the Political Question Doctrine
One example of the political question doctrine occurred in 2019 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider the constitutionality of a Mississippi law severely restricting access to abortion. The Court’s decision was based on the political question doctrine as the law in question clearly fell within the realm of a policy matter that should be resolved through the legislature, not the courts.
Additionally, in the 2018 case of Hawaii v. Trump, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government’s travel ban was a political matter and thus squelched the challenge to its constitutionality by refusing to address the issue.
Conclusion
The political question doctrine is an important concept in understanding the line between the judicial and other branches of government when it comes to ruling on constitutional matters. This doctrine limits the scope of the judicial branch in certain cases and ultimately recognizes that there are matters that require policy-based solutions from politicians and not legal resolutions from the Supreme Court.