Court Service Management How does a court system cope with a changing of the guard when a new administration is elected and key executives and managers are replaced, and/or when policy changes direction as a new political party assumes power?

The court deals with transitions of power by maintaining the established traditions and principles from the Constitution. This is used to ensure that case precedent is respected and to provide stability for the entire political system. As the basic guarantees of the Constitution will not change and cannot be adjusted based upon a new party coming to power. In this case, the structure and attitudes will remain the same. This is from the institution and its practices remaining in place. Regardless of what is happening with transitions in power. (Koopmans, 2003) (Neubauer, 2012) (Oakley, 2009)

However, the courts will be impacted by these changes to a certain extent. This will occur on the federal and state levels. In these situations, a new Governor or President is elected and wants to reverse some of the decisions of their predecessor. This is when they will issue executive orders that loosen or tighten the enforcement of various laws. (Koopmans, 2003) (Neubauer, 2012) (Oakley, 2009)

These issues are challenging, as the court will have to hear new cases surrounding potential abuses from their opponents. This happened when Bush was elected President with the anti-terrorism legislation and executive powers. While Obama faced different issues from the passage of the Affordable Care Act and its impact on stakeholders. In both cases, the power and authority of the Executive branch are brought directly into question. This is occurring through the various rulings and how they are interpreting previous decisions from the courts. As a result, when a new political party obtains power, they will focus on pushing through their agenda and programs. This...

(Koopmans, 2003) (Neubauer, 2012) (Oakley, 2009)
Moreover, when key executives and managers are being replaced, this could cause issues for the courts. This occurs with the Legislative branch refusing to approve certain nominations to key departments and judicial positions based on politics. In general, the courts stay out of these decisions and will only become involved when they feel clear abuses are taking place. As a result, the courts are not impact by most political changes. Instead, it is the actions that are taken and their intent they will look at. This helps them to determine if the individual acted within the scope of their powers in the Constitution. (Koopmans, 2003) (Neubauer, 2012) (Oakley, 2009)

How does a new legal interpretation resulting from a court's decision on an existing law related to court procedures, and how does the passage of a new law affect court administration?

Anytime there is a switch of opinion from a court on an existing law. It has the potential to overturn it and effectively make in unenforceable. This is when the legislature must consider making revisions to it. Otherwise, anyone who is engaging in certain activities may or may not be in breach of these provisions. (Howard, 1995) (Lane, 2012) (Oakley, 2009) (Glannon, 2008)

A good example of this can be seen with the landmark Supreme Court case Brown vs. The Board of Education. In 1954, they ruled that state laws, which legally allowed for racial segregation, were unconstitutional. This meant that states and local communities could not pass or enforce laws saying what facilities specific racial groups could use. This overturned an 1896 Supreme Court decision called Plessey vs. Fergusson. (Howard, 1995) (Lane, 2012) (Oakley, 2009) (Glannon, 2008)

The way that these kinds of decisions will impact the court's procedures is to create new practices and traditions that are embraced. In the above example, many courts in the South could no longer have separate facilities inside its locations for different races. Instead, everyone was forced to share the same ones in order to be in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling. Moreover, this will shape who works with the court and the kinds of attitudes it takes. This transforms its procedures by imposing alternative standards for everyone to follow. (Howard, 1995) (Lane, 2012) (Oakley, 2009) (Glannon, 2008)

The passage of new law will have an impact on administration by changing the requirements court officials must follow. This occurs with support staff…