Origin 1962, in Baker v. Carr, setting out the six-factor test.
The political question doctrine is a justiciability doctrine in United States constitutional law under which federal courts decline to hear a case because it raises an issue the Constitution commits to another, politically accountable branch of government, or because no judicially manageable standard exists for resolving it. Its modern framework traces to the Supreme Court's 1962 decision in Baker v. Carr, which set out six independent factors, any one of which can render a case nonjusticiable as a political question, though courts and commentators have long noted the factors are applied inconsistently.
Facts
Origin Period1962, in Baker v. Carr, setting out the six-factor test. 1 Core PrincipleFederal courts will refuse to hear a case if they find that it presents a political question, one textually committed to a coordinate political branch or lacking judicially manageable standards for its resolution. 1 Origin Period
Origin Period (category)20th Century (1900-1999) 1 Classification
Doctrine Category Connections
Associated With
Both US doctrines of judicial abstention/deference to non-judicial branches on foreign or political matters.
Mootness, Doctrines Mootness and the political question doctrine are sibling justiciability doctrines U.S. federal courts use to determine which cases and controversies they may hear.
In Area Of Law
In Legal System
Source Political Question Doctrine (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School)
Sources
1. Political Question Doctrine (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School)
Introduction
Supreme Court held that a former federal district judge's challenge to the Senate's impeachment procedures presented a nonjusticiable political question. In this case, Walter Nixon challenged a Senate rule that permitted a committee to receive evidence and report its findings to the full Senate rather than requiring the entire Senate to hear the evidence directly.
- In Legal System: Law of the United States
View the Source2. Political question (Wikipedia)
Lead section
In United States constitutional law, the political question doctrine holds that a constitutional dispute requiring or involving knowledge of a non-legal character, techniques not suitable for a court, or matters explicitly assigned by the Constitution to Legislative or Executive branches lies within the political realm
In Group: Constitutional Structure and Judicial Review Doctrines, Introduction, sentence 1
In United States constitutional law, the political question doctrine holds that a constitutional dispute requiring or involving knowledge of a non-legal character, techniques not suitable for a court, or matters explicitly assigned by the Constitution to Legislative or Executive branches lies within the political realm, rather than the judiciary, which is apolitical by design.
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