Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away last week aged 87. A long time liberal voice on the US Supreme Court, her death has opened the likelihood of the court shifting to the right, perhaps quite dramatically. This is because President Donald Trump has nominated the conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg. It has also opened up an already bitter partisan divide in the midst of an already emotional election year. Doug Becker explores the role of the Supreme Court in American politics and the likely legal outcomes of this current situation with Sandy Levinson and Erwin Chemerinsky.

Sanford Levinson is a Professor of Government at the University of Texas. He is an expert in constitutional law and is the author of Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It).

Erwin Chemerinsky is the Dean of Berkeley Law School. He is an expert in constitutional law and is the author of The Case Against the Supreme Court.

Podcast:

 

This interview originally aired on the Scholars’ Circle. To access our archive of episodes and download this interview, click here.

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Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in this discussion reflect the views of the guests and not necessarily the views of The Big Q. 

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