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Bonus 236: A Term of Self-Inflicted Wounds
One First | Steve Vladeck | Substack • • nation
Key Points:
- The Supreme Court's recent rulings, including on birthright citizenship, mail-in ballots, and tariffs, have been cited by defenders as evidence that the Court remains "above politics."
- Critics argue that this view overlooks the broader pattern of the Court's behavior, noting that the current term (OT2025) showed increased political alignment, with 13 cases where all six Republican-appointed justices were in the majority against three Democratic appointees, compared to six such cases last term (OT2024).
- The article highlights four missed opportunities where the justices could have acted to reduce perceptions of political bias but instead chose outcomes that heightened the Court's appearance of partisanship.
- These choices have resulted in avoidable damage to the Court's credibility, suggesting that the institution's political nature is more pronounced than some narratives acknowledge.
