“Hear ye, hear ye, this dishonorable court is now in session!”
“As of 24 June 2022, the US Supreme Court should officially be understood as an illegitimate institution – a tool of minority rule over the majority, and as part of a far-right ideological and authoritarian takeover.” — Jill Filipovic (read op-ed here)
Her argument: All 5 justices who overturned Roe v. Wade were appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote, and the 3 appointed by Trump were confirmed by senators representing a minority of Americans, therefore it’s an undemocratic court. Two were seated by dirty tricks: Gorsuch got his seat because Republicans blocked Obama’s appointee on the specious grounds it was an election year and voters should decide, then Barrett was rushed through just before an election. And while Filipovic doesn’t say it, I will: All 3 of Trump’s appointees committed perjury in their confirmation hearings. Asked if Roe v. Wade was settled precedent, they answered yes; this was a fraud upon the Senate. Did this lying and cheating make the Court illegitimate? Does turning it into an instrument for minority oppression of the majority? Its authority may be intact, but it’s a despised court. I believe honor and reputation are everything, and I wouldn’t want to be one of those three liars for anything. Related articles: Read “the case against” the Supreme Court here (“it was the midwife of Jim Crow and now is one of the chief architects of America’s democratic decline”), and Harvard Law Review article on court legitimacy here.