“Heartfelt Disagreement or Disparagement?”: Is there Discord at the Court or Worries about its Public Image? And Will Any of that Matter at the End of the Day?

Description

On the last day of the Term the Chief Justice wrote “we do not mistake this plainly heartfelt disagreement for disparagement. It is important that the public not be misled either. Any such misperception would be harmful to this institution and our country.” Is this all talk or do the relationship dynamics / reaction to public perception make a difference in the decisions the Court makes? The panel will discuss recent hits to the Court’s public image and whether it matters, specifically addressing what we learned last year with respect to when this Court will embrace incrementalism and when it will make big changes.

Resources

Along with Conservative Triumph, Signs of New Caution at Supreme Court- Adam Liptak, New York Times 

The Supreme Court Justices Do Not Seem to be Getting Along- Steven Mazie, The Atlantic