Supreme Court struggles with race

By Philip Noble 10/5/16

The Supreme Court begins a new session this October, less one justice, and in the midst of a divisive racial climate. The Justices are no less divided on race than is the rest of the country. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has stated that “we never realized the promise of the 60’s.” Chief Justice John Roberts has said “the only way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” Their rulings regarding race-based legislation and other such cases are among the closest of their decisions, such as in the case of Shelby County v. Holder, a 5-4 decision which eliminated a section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Many of their new cases deal with race as a central issue, such as the case of Duane Buck, a black convicted murderer who is on death row, partly because a psychiatrist testified that he was more likely to be violent due to his race. Another case is that of Manuel Pena Rodriguez, accused of sexually harassing two teenage girls. One of the jurors in his trial stated that “I think he did it because he’s Mexican and Mexican men take whatever they want.” The same juror dismissed testimony from a witness because they were “an illegal”.

The absence of a 9th justice following the death of Antonin Scalia may make this term even more difficult, with the prospect of 4-4 split decisions being a real possibility in some cases. They have taken steps to alleviate this difficulty to a degree, such as sending a case on religious objectors being required to provide contraceptive coverage to employees back to lower courts, as well as taking on fewer cases in general. Despite these measures, the lack of a 9th justice is still raising concerns in the face of the diversity of opinions found amongst the remaining justices.