A Case of Supreme Temptation
by Jack Wade Nowlin
The close of the Supreme Court’s 1999–2000 term raised the perennial question of the degree to which the Court, the presumptive guardian of our constitutional liberties, itself may constitute a threat to those liberties. Indeed, can we safely rely on the Court to issue fair and dispassionate rulings about constitutional meaning, or is the nation’s highest tribunal with disturbing frequency simply a “lawless” institution, one whose decisions are driven more by ideology and partisanship than by constitutional principle? A series of decisions handed down in the last few days of the Court’s most recent term—in the face of strong dissenting opinion—lends additional credence to the latter view.
Four Hostile Decisions
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