Sure, faith in the Supreme Court is down, but that's only because the court is dominated by judges who were appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote and didn't represent the values of the majority of Americans.
... Well, that and the fact that the conservative justices on the court openly lied about their positions on important issues.
... Or is it just that many of us are still pretty fucking outraged that they stepped in and gave the presidency to George W. Bush, who lost both the popular vote, and would have lost the electoral college vote, too under ANY AND ALL of the proposed ballot counting measures in Florida, had the court actually... You know... Not forbidden them from counting them.
... Of course it might also be a little bit about the fact that Republicans rigged the judicial appointment system to block a Democratic nominee a year from the end of Obama's term on the grounds that it was too close to an election, and rushed Trump's nominee mere weeks from an election, in the most nakedly hypocritical moment in Senate history.
...Then again, maybe it's just because the conservatives on this court have turned the court from an institution that protects the citizens and safeguards rights into an institution which strips rights away.
... Or perhaps it's just that they've thrown away any attempt to even pretend to be a serious judicial institution when they did away with the entire doctrine of standing when it suited their ideological purposes.
... Or maybe it's their use of the Shadow Docket to massively alter the laws of the land with quick, secret rulings with little deliberation or explanation, and which they don't even sign their name to.
Or, maybe it's just the tiny, tiny issue that they have been caught red-handed taking bribes in exchange for their votes.
Or, no... Could it be that AFTER being caught doing this, they have absolutely refused to step down, and refused to regulate themselves in any way, and ludicrously declared that even Congress can't regulate them?
How about the appointment of an unreformed rapist and drug abuser who demonstrated his utter lack of capacity for judicial temperament during his confirmation hearings? Red-faced shrieking is a bad look for a judge.
To the true-believer Trumpies, of course, Kavanaugh's status as a rapist is a plus, as it demonstrates the attitude that he brings to cases involving women and sexual minorities.
1.) The Supreme Court should have a binding code of ethics.
2.) The maximum age for a sitting Supreme Court Justice should be 65. The maximum age for appointment should be 55.
3.) The Supreme Court should have a term limit of 12 years with a maximum of one term in a person's lifetime.
4.) The Supreme Court should be expanded. Not entirely sure to what number but in my head I envision a pool of justices from which are randomly chosen and assigned:
First: 9 are chosen for 1 term to review the cases that are being asked to be heard by the Supreme Court and determine if they should be on the docket two terms later.
Second: 9 are chosen to hear the cases that are on the docket for that term.
Third: 9 backup justices are chosen to take the place any of the currently active ones in the event they are unable to perform their duties. I find it hard to believe it would be necessary but absolute safety and caution tells me the backup pool should total 18. 9 to take the place of those reviewing cases and 9 to take the place of those actively hearing cases.
Fourth: No justice will serve in the same role for more than two consecutive terms and no more than five total terms in any one role over their 12 year appointment.
But that's just all the shit I made up in my head.
The chief justice’s wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, has made millions in her career recruiting lawyers to prominent law firms, some of which have business before the court. Now, a letter sent to Congress claims that may present a conflict of interest.
"If voters want change, they should go to the polls" doesn't work anymore. I don't know if it is the Democrats' spinelessness or the fact that the GOP is doing everything that they can to gerrymander and rig elections, or when that fails, just try to overthrow the damn government. We really need a plan B, though.
Democrats have not had true, fillibuster-proof control of Congress since the late 1970s.
For about seven months in 2009-10 they had something pretty close to that if you count the independents who caucused with them, but they also had the traitor, Joe Lieberman who ruined Democrats' one chance to get a public option for healthcare.
Yeah, that would have been a great strategy had we started it 30 years ago.
As it is the only way to repair this court in our lifetime is an overwhelming democratic sweep of the Senate, (and winning the presidency) and then massively restructuring the court to add enough new seats to get control back into the hands of the majority of Americans, and our of the hands of those corrupt, bigoted theocrats.