Supreme Court
Jonathan H. Adler | 9.23.2024 3:07 PM
Political attacks on the Supreme Court and individual justices are increasingly commonplace. Those who disagree with the court's rulings are not content with criticizing the Court's holdings, rationales, and reasoning. They increasingly target the Court itself, and question the integrity of the justices.
The Supreme Court bar, by and large, has been relatively quiet in the face of these criticisms. Last week, however, noted appellate practitioner Kannon Shanmugam delivered remarks at Duke Law School in defense of the Supreme Court's legitimacy. His remarks are notable, and have attracted attention (as in this WSJ editorial). [The whole speech is available here.]
Here is a taste:
I have been reluctant to give formal speeches about the law in general or the Supreme Court in particular. You see, I have always thought of myself as a practicing lawyer, not a pundit, and a country lawyer at that—the kid who improbably went from a trailer park in Kansas to a corner office on K Street. As a lawyer, my job is to play in the game; I leave the task of color commentary to others.
But today, I am breaking that habit to........