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Part 8 Case Study
Obergefell v. Hodges
Questions for Analysis
1. The case of Obergefell v. Hodges clearly supports the core legal principle of stare decisis. Both
the majority opinion and the four dissenting opinions cite multiple cases that demonstrate how the Due
2. The Obergefell v. Hodges case clearly verifies the successful nature of Madison’s campaign to
build a strong federal government that could substitute its will for the will of the state governments.
Madison had an intense fear of the factions that might rise up and split the unified actions of the federal
government. He witnessed the diffculties (he referred to them as the “vices”) under the Articles of
Confederation, and he was determined not to see those difficluties repeated. He believed that the
3. Madison’s federal veto would have been in the hands of Congress, a body made up of powerful
men with a great deal of wealth and competing interests. Therefore, even the federal veto would have
faced contentious times in Congress. In the Supreme Court, the authority would be concentrated in the
hands a few powerful men, handpicked by the President. This alone would be an added advantage to
the Supreme Court’s veto. It would be easier to influence a handful of men chosen by the President
4. From a legal and constitutional point of view Roberts is absolutely right. Judges are not supposed
to engineer anything. They look at the law, determine the aplication of that law to the individual facts in
a given case, and make a ruling. At the appellate level, they do the same thing, only at that level they
5. From a legal and Constitutional point of view, Scalia is absolutely right. Judges are not
supposed to “legislate from the bench.” The job of legislating belongs in the hands of Congress
and the state legislatures. However, the justices on the Supreme Court, and all federal judges for
that matter, are appointed for life, as long as they exhibit good behavior. Unfortunately, bad
6. No. Any avowed textualist must take the words in the statute, regulation, or constitutional
provision under examination as the main (only?) guide in interpreting that statute, regulation, or
constitutional provision. On the other hand, the textualist is also dedicated to discovering what
8. Whether the majority should be congratulated for creating new right or rebuked for violating
9. The case of Obergefell v. Hodges will affect many parts of the legal landscape beyond
contitutional law and domestic relations law. A short list of the affected areas of the law would include
10. Whether Kennedy’s majority opinion in Obergefell reinforces the idea that the law works like a
END of Part EIGHT End Case
