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Dear John,
Many Americans grew concerned about the Supreme Court for the first time during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings. Others may have grown alarmed in the past several days, in the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passing away and Trump’s threats to nominate a new Justice to replace her before ending his term in the White House.
I’ve been alarmed by the Supreme Court since 2000.
Bush v Gore was the most controversial decision in decades, and was announced during the semester that I started law school at Stanford. I went on to organize with the Stanford chapter of the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy (ACS), an organization founded by constitutional law professors alarmed by Bush v Gore.
Yale Law professor Bruce Ackerman said at the time that the court packed itself, in the sense that the Justices contrived their own future succession. That goal—of seizing the law and using the courts as a lever to enforce conservative policies—reflected the culmination of a longstanding project initiated in the 1970s by the Federalist Society.
That’s why I joined the senior staff of ACS in Washington, DC when I left private practice in 2005. I have actively challenged every Repubican nominee to the Court in the 20 years since then.
Justice Ginsburg’s legacy is at stake. We should take action to defend it. While Pelosi decided to take options off the table within 36 hours of Ginsburg passing, and chose to endorse incumbent Democrats who favor restrictions on reproductive rights, I’m keenly aware of Justice Ginsburg’s legacy and committed to defending it.
Your voice in Washington,
Shahid
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