3,257
edits
Changes
→The Cold War Court
The court, arguably, took a more conservative turn in the 1970s under the Burger court, that existed until 1986. Nevertheless, one of the most landmark cases, <i>Roe v. Wade</i> protected individuals' rights to abortion and prevented states from creating restrictive laws against abortion access and upheld affirmative action in <i>University of California v. Bakke</i>. It, however, struck down earlier cases that limited campaign finance in <i>Buckley v. Valeo</i>. The Rehnquist Court, from 1986-2005, generally upheld individual rights, such as <i>Lawrence v. Texas</i> that struck down Texas' sodomy law. The most controversial decision was its involvement in the 2000 election in <i> Bush v. Gore</i> that ended the recount of the election. The court, under Chief Justice John Roberts, is seen as generally being conservative, but key decisions such as <i>United States v. Windsor</i> led to the decision that part of the Defense of Marriage Act legislation was unconstitutional and gay and lesbian couples cannot be discriminated on in relation to benefits and rights in cases where they are married.<ref>For more on Burger and the later courts, see: Greenhouse, L. (2012). <i>The U.S. Supreme Court: a very short introduction</i>. New York: Oxford University Press. </ref>
The main controversies today in the Supreme Court, interestingly, are not different from one of the first impeachments in the United States, which had to do with justice being perceived as being politically influenced. There are clear and well documents cases where judges were not impartial, such as in the Dredd Scott case. However, the topic itself remains contentious and the recent appointment Brett Kavanaugh and his appointment process support this. Nevertheless, repeatedly judges nominated by left-leaning or right-leaning presidents often do not follow their perceived political bent, perhaps indicating that the Court has at times maintained a level of independence as envisioned early in its history. <ref>For more on the partial leanings of the Court, see: Baum, L. (2017). <i>Ideology in the Supreme Court</i>. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.</ref>
[[File:59c82e99014f4.image.jpg|thumb|Figure 2. While segregation began its end with Brown v. Education, it also led to racial tensions.]]