More people would say “no” than I can ever remember, and it is easy to see why.
In my view, there are at least three dimensions to the question. The first dimension is whether the Court’s analyses have strong legal bases, or if they are political decisions masked in legal terms. The second is whether the decisions articulate sound policies. And now we have reports of bias and corruption. In short, a lack of ethical standards.
. On the first issue, conservatives assert that past Court decisions were not well grounded in the text of the Constitution. Instead they imposed policy ideas that the founders did not endorse. This first made the news in the confirmation hearings related to the nomination of Robert Bork back in 1987. Bork forcefully advanced this idea, and he was rejected by the senate, as his views appeared at the time to be out ot step with legal policy thinking.
But while Bork did not make it onto the Court, his ideas have. Most famously, Justice Scalia pushed them, and used them, And it is now part of the legal foundation of so called conservative jurisprudence.
One might argue with whether this is appropriate, at least it sounds like a coherent idea. The problem is that conservative decisions have not followed it. This was evidenced most recently in the decision of the Court to gut the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment. The Court’s decision flew in the face of the text and historical documentation of the drafters’ intent.
So, I am sympathetic to those who say that the so called conservative revolution to impose “originalist” thinking is bogus. A smokescreen. That in itself detracts from the credibility of the Court.
And there is that nagging second issue. Does the conservative court develop sound legal policy? I find it difficult to see where conservatives have done this. Instead, they have imposed their views on gun regulation, women’s reproductive rights, and more, in ways that add no value to Americans.
These problems sit on top of more recent concerns about partisanship and corruption. Thus, it is no huge surprise that Americans are holding their breath as the Court deliberates on the Trump immunity case — a case that it NEVER should have taken in the first place.
So these are my views. Consider what these pundits say on CNN.
I get the feeling that mainstream media here attempts to calm everyone down. Unfortunately, this may put people to sleep when they should be waking up.
Buzzography 