Stephen L. Carter, Columnist

Trump Lowers the Dignity of the Supreme Court

Nothing against Neil Gorsuch. This process is just a mess.

February 1, 2017 at 3:41 AM UTC

Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a professor of law at Yale University and author of “Invisible: The Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster.”

Give the host a hand.
Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

I admit it. I am a sucker for dignity. I am a fan of the quiet and the thoughtful and the somber, not the loud and the raucous and the attention-grabbing. That’s probably why I don’t like the celebrity culture or made-for-television politics. And why I am appalled at the idea of turning the selection of a U.S. Supreme Court justice into a game show.

Let me be clear. I have nothing against Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Antonin Scalia. And I say this having written last year in support of Judge Merrick Garland, on whose nomination the Senate shamefully refused to act.