In less than a month, the Supreme Court transformed America. It has allowed more guns on the streets, chipped away at the separation between church and state, caused abortion to be banned in half the country and limited the government’s power to regulate greenhouse gases. Not bad in one session! For the Conservatives, this is a huge victory. Democrats see it as a frightening step backwards.
It is ritual, every June, the Court announces a series of judgments which generally result from a prudent and measured interpretation of the Constitution. But this time, the six conservative justices have instead taken a bulldozing approach aimed at reshaping the law according to their own worldview. “The Court has entered a new era”, summarizes Charles Franklin, professor of law at Marquette University.
The ultra-conservatives without qualms to impose their views
Thanks to the three magistrates appointed by Donald Trump, the highest judicial body is now controlled 6 to 3 by ultra-conservatives, all Catholics except one, who have no qualms about imposing their views. Too bad if they are totally out of step with society. “Historically, the Court has aligned itself with public opinion, but the current super majority has a very divergent ideological vision”, explains Michael Salamone, specialist in Political Science at Washington State University,
The most explosive decision is obviously the one that puts an end to the protection of abortion, annulling 50 years of jurisprudence. Even if the legal argument is valid, it has the consequence of depriving some 50 million women of childbearing age of access to abortion, including in cases of rape, incest or fetal abnormality.
In another register, the judges took up cause for the coal producers and decreed that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could not enact general rules to limit CO2 emissions from thermal power stations. A serious obstacle to measures to combat global warming. The sages also struck down a century-old New York state law that imposes restrictions on carrying guns in public. Finally, they vindicated the American football coach of a public high school who wanted to pray on the field with his players and prohibited the State of Maine from refusing to allocate public scholarships financed by the State to religious private schools. taxpayer’s money.
These judgments have aroused many criticisms from the left, worried about theocratic drift. “It is clear that over the years the Supreme Court has become a partisan institution, which does not have to answer for its actions before the American people, said Mary Ziegler, an abortion specialist at the University of California. Under these conditions, it is difficult not to consider as undemocratic his aggressive positions aimed at reshaping constitutional law. But the Congress being totally paralyzed because of the obstruction of the Republicans, it is on the nine wise men that fall ultimately number of crucial decisions. “If the Supreme Court becomes a legislative forum, shouldn’t it respect the views of two-thirds of the country?” asks Max Boota columnist for washington post.
America plunged into chaos
In the meantime, she appears to be living in an alternate reality. It torpedoes the EPA at a time when the fight on global warming is a priority. It reauthorizes prayer in schools when there are fewer and fewer practicing Americans. It removes the gun law even though 79% of New Yorkers support its retention.
These radical judgments have sown discord. Usually, the deliberations are done in an opaque and discreet manner. But this time the tensions erupted in broad daylight. The draft on abortion leaked – unheard of – two months ago. And the three Democratic judges violently criticized the position on abortion, saying that “the Court betrays its guiding principles”. Following the multiplication of demonstrations in front of their home and the arrest of an armed individual who was preparing the assassination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the magistrates demanded more bodyguards. Above all, these decisions plunged America into chaos. The country finds itself cut in two with a lot of outstanding legal questions and laws at the antipodes which will create legal conflicts between the States, as we have not seen since the Civil War.
No real ways to counter sages
All of this threatens the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, seen as increasingly politicized and dysfunctional. According to a recent survey, only 25% of Americans trust the institution, a drop of 11 points in one year. “If she continues to make stops so disconnected from public opinion, it is not viable in the long run”, continues Michael Salamone. For lack of tools to apply its decisions, the highest authority depends on the support of the population. Already, dozens of district attorneys have rebelled, announcing they will not prosecute abortion clinics.
There aren’t really any ways to counter sages though. Democrats don’t have the 60 votes needed in the Senate to advance abortion or gun reform bills. There is talk of changing the voting rules but there is little chance that this will succeed. Nor is the idea of increasing the number of members of the Supreme Court or imposing an age limit on it.
In the months to come, the Court could overturn other previous decisions, however, on positive discrimination, electoral redistricting and, one day perhaps, on contraception and gay marriage. Because the influence of the conservatives is assured for a few decades. Three of their judges are expected to serve until at least 2052.