Nine Old Men - Nine Old Men

...Subsequently, there have been rulings on unconstitutional legislation that have had a major impact on American politics, such as the Dred Scott decision in 1857 that allowed the expansion of slavery, the ruling that declared the federal income tax law unconstitutional, the ruling on New Deal legislation, and the Brown decision in 1954 on racial discrimination against blacks. There have also been criticisms that the denial of legislation by Congress, the representative body of the people, by the "nine old men" (Supreme Court justices) is anti-democratic, and in fact, due to its institutional conservatism, the court often represents the ideas of a generation ago. In this regard, proposals for reform of the judicial branch are often proposed, but in the face of the authority of the court as the "guardian of the Constitution," they often end up not being realized, as was the case with Roosevelt's proposal for court reform in 1937. ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Nine Old Men" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…その後奴隷制拡大を認めた1857年のドレッド･スコット事件判決，連邦所得税法を違憲とした判決，ニューディール立法に関する判決，1954年の黒人差別をめぐるブラウン事件判決など，アメリカの政治を大きく左右した違憲立法判決がある。〈9人の老人〉(最高裁判所裁判官)によって，国民の代表機関である議会の立法が否定されることは反民主的であるという批判もあり，事実，裁判所はその制度的保守性のゆえに，一時代前の思想を代弁することが少なくない。その点司法部の改革案もしばしば提案されるが，〈憲法の番人〉という裁判所の権威の前に，1937年のローズベルトによる裁判所改革案のごとく結局実現しないことが多い。…

※「９人の老人」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報