Civil Rights,
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun. 13, 2023
Preserving civil rights
It feels strange to celebrate decisions that do not change the law or provide any greater protection of civil rights than existed previously. But given the Court’s recent history, its following precedents and finding violations of these important civil rights laws is a cause for celebration.
Erwin Chemerinsky
Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law
UC Berkeley School of Law
Erwin's most recent book is "Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism." He is also the author of "Closing the Courthouse," (Yale University Press 2017).
On Thursday, June 8, the Supreme Court defied expectations with two decisions that preserved precedents protecting civil rights. In both cases, there had been dire predictions of how the Court was going to cut back, or even likely overrule, longstanding protections. To be sure, neither case expanded civil rights and in each there were disturbing dissents. But given the conservative Roberts Court and other rulings gutting civil rights protections, these cases should b...
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