The Next Supreme Court Won’t Reflect Public Opinion

Now that President Donald Trump has the opportunity to name a successor to Justice Anthony Kennedy, it’s worth remembering that there’s been a conservative majority on the Supreme Court for decades, and a very conservative one since Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito were confirmed more than a dozen years ago. Soon there is likely to be an extremely conservative majority.

Indeed, the judiciary will become the most conservative branch of the U.S. government, regardless of the results of the 2018 midterms and even the 2020 presidential election. Most significantly, the courts will be far more conservative than overall public opinion. The political scientist Rick Hasen recently sketched out what another Trump nominee would mean for voting rights and for civil rights in general. For those who support the status quo (let alone more vigorous constitutional protections) on the many issues involved, the announcement Wednesday that Kennedy, the swing vote on the high court, would retire is very bad news.