This court, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, has lost all credibility. Disgraced, twice impeached, and convicted felon Donald Trump’s first appointment to the court, Neil Gorsuch, was given his seat after Republicans prevented the nation’s first Black President from filling the vacancy. Trump’s second pick, Brett Kavanaugh, was credibly accused of sexual assault, and his last pick; Amy Coney Barrett, was rushed on to the court in the middle of a presidential election and belongs to a religious fundamentalist group. This court is made up of five justices who were appointed by Republican Presidents who lost the popular vote.
Roberts, himself, is a staunch opponent of Civil Rights legislation. He declared that racism no longer exists in America as he gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act - ushering in a new age of voter restrictions that have targeted Black voters and has allowed states to legally disenfranchise Black voters.
Like most of the other systematically racist institutions in America, the Supreme Court has done more to impede the equal rights of the most marginalized Americans than it has to expand those rights. For instance, it was the Supreme Court who ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, could not be citizens. It was the Supreme Court who prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations. It was the Supreme Court who upheld involuntary sterilization. It is the current Supreme Court that protects a criminal president, ended Affirmative Action, and took away reproductive rights from women.
The judicial branch was envisioned to be the least dangerous branch of government out of the three (legislative, executive, & judicial). Judges are supposed to interpret the law without prejudice or bias, and while the judicial branch has always been political, the judges on the court used to care about public perception and respect, but it seems as though this is no longer the case. The Roberts Court has acted with disdain towards legal precedent, ruled in ways that fit their own religious and political beliefs, and could clearly care less about their reputation. This court has given itself unlimited power and operates above any codes of ethics or restraint.
To the Republican majority on the court, they are above reproach, and no person or entity can stop them. Through their rulings, they have shown not to be impartial jurists, but instead radical partisans – Republicans in robes who are hell bent on entrenching Republicans in power and forcing their radical agenda on the country. This court does not deserve the respect of the populace and should be viewed as another corrupt, public institution. Everyone who cares about democracy and the future of this country should agree that court reform is essential. If not, this court and its radical judges will take this country down, past a place of no return.