Congress and the supreme court

Please discuss the interaction of the Supreme Court with Congress
and analyze it as deeply and thoroughly as you can. For example, despite the separation of
powers, the Constitution does not prohibit Congress from communicating with the
Supreme Court. Indeed, the Supreme Court has its own procedures for comments to
be submitted to it in the form of “Friend of the Court” (Amicus
Curiae) briefs. In this case it could be argued that Congress was informing
the Court of what it, the Congress, would do legislatively in the future. Why
would that be improper? Justice Alioto chose to see it as a threat, others
might argue that it was merely a statement of congressional intent. In either
case, the Supreme Court was free to ignore it, it was of no legal consequence.
Would you prohibit Members of Congress or Senators communicating
with the Court? Does someone give up his/her right to free speech when they are
elected to Congress? There is no statement in the Constitution that
either separation of powers or the First Amendment is superior to the other.
The Congress and the Supreme Court are equals. If you were a Justice of the
Supreme Court, in a conflict between separation of powers and First Amendment
free speech protections, which should win out?
Do Justices of the Supreme Court meet their judicial obligation of
objectivity if they bend to the will of Congress to protect the existence of
the Court, their own institution? Does the action of the Supreme Court in, some
would argue, capitulating to the Congress on this gun control case mirror the
Supreme Court capitulating to the Roosevelt Administration in the “Court
Packing” affair and approving New Deal legislation?
If you, like Justice Alioto, believe a threat from Congress is “an
affront to the Constitution,” how would you prohibit it in the future? Would
you just ignore it, and make your decisions without concern of how Congress
might react? Would you amend the Constitution, if so, how? Or does the
Supreme Court have the power to simply interpret the Constitution and rule that
it may limit the power of Congress to communicate with another branch?

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