President Trump's remaking of the Supreme Court for constitutionalism may well be the crown jewel of his presidency. If Judge Barrett becomes Justice Barrett, she will join Justices Clarence Thomas, Sam Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh to create a constitutionalist core of five justices, a controlling majority. By nominating Federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett [...]
On the court issue, Democrats are exhibiting something akin to panic. They are warning that if a conservative jurist like Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed, Democrats may retaliate by "packing" the Supreme Court — increasing the number of justices from nine to 11 and installing two new liberals — if they win the presidency and [...]
As painful as it might be, it would be decorous to pay respects to the deceased victims of the late Justice Ginsburg—those whose lives were snuffed out in the womb due to her tireless defence of abortion. For the past two days, mourners have lined up outside the Supreme Court building in Washington DC to [...]
Today, the hour of President Trump's triumph may be at hand, and the stark panic on the left testifies to it. Are there Republicans who would really walk away from this last, best chance to secure the court, simply because the process offends their sense of proper procedure? President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader [...]
Perhaps more than any other figure in the early history of the American Republic, John Marshall shaped the Supreme Court as well as attitudes toward and understandings of the U.S. Constitution. John Marshall (September 24, 1755–July 6, 1835) was the fourth man to serve as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, [...]
“Dred Scott” is a landmark decision because it answered questions regarding slavery that the Supreme Court had not previously addressed. It is also one of the most infamous decisions, furthering the great divide facing the nation regarding the question of slavery and moving the country further down the path toward the Civil War. Dred [...]
One of the best contemporary memoirs I’ve read in the last decade is My Grandfather’s Son, which was published in 2007. In his tale that ended with the fierce 1991 confirmation battle for his seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas told a remarkable story of his journey from being raised by a [...]
“Precedence,” as well as following or overturning precedents, is not limited to what is decided in new cases. It is also concerns the adherence to established principles of judicial jurisprudence. Without both kinds of precedence, there is no limit to the power of the judiciary... In the last installment of this survey of the judicial principle [...]
Despite all the unfounded fear on the left and all the equally unfounded euphoria on the right, there will be no wholesale revamping by the Supreme Court of the liberal social order that is now deeply rooted in our culture and among our people. The conservative justices' ethos of evolution over revolution will forestall any [...]
The clashes of contemporary political life can alienate anyone, but this is not the time to withdraw from the fight. As recent events clearly show, the most hopeful signs sometimes come from the places we least expect. This past week has been a watershed in American political life—or so we are told. After the confirmation [...]
Even before the spectacle of Christine Balsey Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the hearing for President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, was characterized not by political acumen, wit, cunning, or prudence, but by partisan obstruction, lawlessness, tantrums, hysteria, ignorance, frenzy, and anger. Protestors screamed vulgarities and trite slogans, proving [...]
In the case of United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court found that the Constitution required formal, legal, and constitutional recognition of homosexual marriage. And yet if the Court had followed its own precedents, it would have ruled that Edith Windsor lacked the legal standing to file her original lawsuit... In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), [...]
The dual hearing of Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh is portrayed as a mere "he said/she said," with the result hinging on relative credibility. Both appeared credible. But many liars and deceivers appear credible. That is part of our sinful condition. As the Bible says, "The heart of man is deceitful and desperately [...]
The Supreme Court apotheosized the right of privacy in its now-famous words: “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life”… Editor’s Note: This essay continues a discussion of the Supreme Court’s sexual “right of privacy” cases, [...]