Why the U.S. Supreme Court Is So Divided

 

Lawmakers in the United States have been debating how to deal with an accusation¹ against a nominee² for the Supreme³ Court. The issue has turned into a political battle between the two major parties.

Observers may ask why a Supreme Court candidate shows such a wide division between Democrats⁴ and Republicans. President Donald Trump⁵ nominated Brett Kavanaugh in July. Kavanaugh, like past nominees⁶ to the court, has promised his court decisions will not be based on politics. And yet, in the 20th century, the nine-member court has followed a trend of partisan⁷ division.?

From 1969 to 1986, an average of 17 percent of cases were decided⁸ by a 5-4 majority. In the following years, that average rose to 20 percent, then 22 percent.

The early years of Supreme Court decisions were decided very differently. From 1801 to 1940, a one-person majority decided only 2 percent of cases.

In other words, Supreme Court justices have been less and less able to agree on decisions. At the same time, one group of justices often shares an opinion, and disagrees with the other justice.

For example, in the last term, which ended in June, the same group of five justices decided 13 cases; the same group of four justices dissented⁹ in those cases. The five in the majority are considered conservative. The four in the minority are considered liberal.

This apparent split is one reason Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination¹⁰ has become such a political battle. Kavanaugh is thought to be a conservative thinker, and many lawmakers believe he will ensure the court’s rulings continue to support conservative ideas.

The Divided States?

This partisan divide on the court is part of a larger picture of political division in the U.S. – at least among politicians and the media. Reporter Alan Greenblatt wrote about the issue in Congressional Quarterly magazine in 2004. In the early 2000s, he said, voters were nearly evenly divided between generally conservative and generally liberal groups. So, to win votes, Greenblatt says, politicians became more extreme in their views.

A 2014 report in the New Republic magazine supports Greenblatt’s idea. It noted¹¹ that in the second half of the 20th century, lawmakers considered to have views in the middle dropped from about 45 percent to 10 percent.

The decrease in moderate politicians was part of a political plan, Greenblatt says. He claims that in the mid-1990s, lawmakers in the Republican Party sought to make personal attacks on Democrats, stop moderate views, and punish officials who cooperated with the opposing party. The plan worked, Greenblatt says. In many cases, more extreme Republicans gained power. And Democrats began using the same methods, too.

Since that time, partisan divides have become even wider. The split is aided by media reports that promote highly partisan views; a growing industry of workers paid to act in support of laws that favor certain causes or businesses; activist¹² campaign donors¹³; and the practice of redefining an electoral area so similar voters are all together.

But most Americans believe they are in the middle

But in fact, Americans today are not as politically divided as the politicians and media, say researchers from the Pew Research Center. A recent survey found that more than half of Americans consider themselves politically moderate. Even those who identify with a political party believe they are slightly more moderate than the party as a whole.

However, Pew researchers found that Americans see people in the opposing party as having extreme views. In other words, voters see other voters as very partisan, even if each person believes he or she is moderate.]

So what does this have to do with the Supreme Court?

As political culture in the U.S. has become more partisan, many Americans have come to see Supreme Court justices as political, too. When division on the court began to increase in the 1940s, Americans’ belief that justices would be politically independent began to decrease.

In 1987, the idea that Supreme Court justices could be considered in connection with their political beliefs exploded with the hearings of Robert Bork. Democrats blocked his nomination, partly because they objected to his views on civil rights and abortion¹⁴.

Bork warned that treating justices as political candidates would reduce the public’s trust in the court. But by the beginning of the 21st century, a number of voters wanted justices to decide cases with certain beliefs in mind.

The Gallup research company questioned Americans about that idea in 2005 and 2018. Half of them said that they believed lawmakers could reject a qualified¹⁵ nominee if they disagreed with him or her about hotly disputed issues, such as gun control or abortion.

An opinion writer in the San Francisco Chronicle wrote earlier this year about why the Supreme Court had become such a political battleground. Jonah Goldberg noted that the power of the court has risen sharply in the U.S. government. He says that, in the 20th century, partisans¹⁶ on the left began to use the court to push forward laws and policies that should be made by the president, lawmakers or states.

Partisans on the right answered, he said, by making Supreme Court nominations¹⁷ a campaign issue. In 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump promised voters he would nominate conservative-minded justices to the Supreme Court. That promise, Goldberg says, helped Trump become president.

I’m Caty Weaver¹⁸.

And I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

trend -n. a general direction of change : a way of behaving, proceeding¹⁹, etc., that is developing and becoming more common?

partisan -adj. strongly supporting one leader, group, or cause over another?

certain -adj. used to refer to something or someone that is not named specifically?

practice -n. something that is done often or regularly?

abortion -n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus

1 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

7 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 dissented   

不同意，持异议( dissent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• We dissented from the decision. 对那项决定我们表示了不同意见。
• He dissented and questioned the justice of the award. 他提出质问，说裁判不公允。

10 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

15 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

16 partisans   

游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙

参考例句：

• Every movement has its partisans. 每一运动都有热情的支持者。
• He was rescued by some Italian partisans. 他被几名意大利游击队员所救。

17 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

18 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

19 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。