How the first liberal Supreme Court in a generation could reshape America - Frances Hubbard

When Justice Antonin Scalia passed away in 2016, it created a valuable opportunity for the Democratic party - to have the first majority of Democrats on the supreme court in almost 50 years. In the article,  How the first liberal Supreme Court in a generation could reshape America, author Dylan Matthews writes a well thought out and comprehensive review on how a Supreme Court with five liberal judges could make landmark changes in the criminal justice system, voting rights, and women's rights. Matthews gives an overview of Republican led decisions on the Supreme Court that could be reversed if there regains a Democratic majority.

The next President of the United States has the opportunity to possibly replace four Supreme Court judges - Scalia, Kennedy, Ginsburg, and Breyer. One of the aforementioned has passed away, and the others are the oldest three on the bench today. As this article details, a win by Clinton would put all four of these (possibly) vacated positions in the hands of liberal judges.

Justice Anthony Kennedy and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 

With a liberal court there could be an end to long term solitary confinement, mass incarceration could be dealt with by the court, and a landmark ruling ending the death penalty is a real possibility. Additionally a more liberal court could regulate (maybe even over-turn) Citizens United, allowing for major changes to the campaign financing system. Another issue that could be dramatically changed under a liberal Supreme Court is voting rights, possibly allowing for easier voter registration and unnecessary burdens on minorities trying to cast their votes. Even though there are many important issues that could have a huge influence under a Democratic Supreme Court, one of the most debated and important is abortion. Matthews writes that "an equal protection reevaluation on abortion rights is ... somewhat likely, and could lay groundwork for a right to abortion coverage." It's important to note that at the end of the article, the author makes the point that the issues mentioned above are just the beginning of the changes that could be made under a  Democratic Supreme Court. Matthews ends the article by saying that the implications under a liberal Supreme Court could be dramatic and open the doors for Democrats to redefine the American legal system.

This article is very significant to our reading of Assessing the Supreme Court. This article analyzes the possibilites of a liberal court, just as we have analyzed the downfalls that the court has made in the past. Additionally this article deals with the 2016 presidential race, a topic which we have discussed in class.

I chose this article because over the summer I took the course 'American Legal Systems' and much of that class was centered on the Supreme Court. That class gave me a new view on the decisions the Supreme Court has made in the past and the decisions that will be made in the immediate future. Additionally I chose this article because I think it's extremely important that the Supreme Court have a Democratic majority in the next few years because of all the significant issues facing our country. I believe that the general population should be informed on the significance of the Supreme Court and how this election relates. The decisions that will be made by the Court in the upcoming years will directly impact every single one of us, and future generations to come.

Overall this was a very informative article, and it strengthened my hopes for a Clinton win in the presidential election this fall. I do think its important to note that this article had an underlying liberal bias, and that only a sentence was dedicated to the fact that a Trump win would derail everything mentioned. But overall, it showed how important it is that a Democrat remains in the White House for four more years. I do understand that not everyone shares these view so that leads me to a question. In the event of a Clinton presidency, do you think a liberal Supreme Court could help find common ground between Democrats and Republicans? Or will it just create a deeper divide than has already formed?