Thread by @fawfulfan

I think all the people claiming that protests and criticism of the Supreme Court won't do anything are wrong.

There's a reason the justices are on a press offensive right now. They know that their power depends to a large degree on their legitimacy.

The chance of impeaching a justice is next to none. Expanding the court isn't very likely either.

But what actually IS likely is that the Court becomes so unpopular that Congress and the White House start basically ignoring orders directing them to take actions.

We actually saw this happen in a lower court recently.

A Trump-appointed district judge, Drew Tipton, ordered Biden to restore Remain in Mexico, but his order was so nonsensical that both the Biden admin and Mexico pretty much said, "LOL no, cope." slate.com/news-and-polit…

Granted, the Court still has some power to enforce its own rulings without other branches' cooperation. Basically any decision that affects how a lower court judge must read civil or criminal cases, is a done deal, and that includes killing Roe if they decide to do it this term.

But basically on any matter where the Court orders another branch to take an administrative action, that other branch can make the Court's life hell, drag their feet, and force even more litigation. And if the public is not on the Court's side, they won't pay any price.

This is what John Roberts is afraid of. It's why he throws liberal plaintiffs a bone now and then, and why he's doing it more lately.

He fears the public and elected officials will stop treating his court as philosopher-kings and more like rival politicians to be fought with.

And there is, in fact, research that shows clearly that the justices pay attention to public opinion and make their rulings strategically to try to avoid this kind of legitimacy crisis. jstor.org/stable/25766255

So basically, yes, it does matter that the Supreme Court is being criticized more publicly, and that the justices are being forced to defend their jurisprudence in interviews and lectures.

It is a sign of public accountability kicking in. And in this term it will only increase.