Supreme Court justices have publicly bickered over whether recent conservative majority decisions have undermined the institution’s credibility and reputation.
Speaking last week at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island, Judge Elena Kagan suggested that the conservative majority of the modern Court was simply following the partisan order of the Republican party, rather than adhering to a consistent legal philosophy.
“The worst moments have been when judges have even essentially reflected a party’s views or an ideology in their legal decisions,” said liberal Kagan. “What builds a reservoir of public confidence is that the court acts like a court and not an extension of the political process.”
She also told a judicial conference in Big Sky, Mont. that it is actually problematic for the court to be isolated from the political struggle and popular impulses.
“If the court loses all connection with the public and with public sentiment over time, that’s a dangerous thing for democracy,” she said.
Chief Justice Roberts dismissed his colleague’s logic in early September, adding that the court’s mandate to interpret the law must be respected, regardless of political squabbles over certain rulings.
“Just because people disagree with an opinion is no reason to question the legitimacy of the court,” he told a judicial conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Supreme Court’s responsibility “doesn’t change simply because people disagree with this or that opinion or disagree with the particular form of case law,” he said.
More recently, Judge Samuel Alito pushed Kagan’s efforts to discredit the Court back in comments to the… Wall Street Journalalthough he stopped calling her directly.
“It goes without saying that everyone is free to disagree with our decisions and to criticize our reasoning as they see fit. But saying or implying that the court is becoming an illegitimate institution or questioning our integrity is crossing an important line,” he said.
Recent polls show that public confidence in the Supreme Court has fallen sharply. A Gallup poll conducted in June found that only 25 percent of Americans report confidence in the institution, up from 36 percent in 2021. The drop in confidence is largely driven by liberal dissatisfaction with some recent conservative wins in key positions. cases, especially Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, that toppled Roe v. Wade.
Other key Conservative wins include: Carson v. Makin, that Maine’s exclusion of religious schools from an educational aid program, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen, who knocked down a New York hidden-carrying restriction.
On the roll for the Supreme Court’s next term are other controversial cases, including: 303 Creative LLC v. Eleniswho deals with a Christian graphic designer who refused design websites that celebrated same-sex marriage because it violated her religious beliefs.
