Social change reshapes the constitutional issues courts address over time

Evidence

As American society changes, so do the sorts of issues that come before the courts; and the focus of judicial policymaking shifts in turn. The changing agenda of the U.S. Supreme Court illustrates the point. During the nineteenth century, relatively few cases that came before the Court involved constitutional issues, but today many do. Even more important are changes in the sorts of constitutional issues the Court addresses. Before the Civil War, constitutional cases usually involved disputes about the respective spheres of the national and state governments. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2840

Categorization

• XREF: Ties the shifting Supreme Court agenda to federalism disputes before the Civil War, a recurring theme in judicial policymaking. — connects to: Public-interest litigation changed constitutional law through test cases — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 604