The Supreme Court has only supported progress when a mass movement of the people has forced it to. Their decisions uphold what was won in the street and are mainly an effort to stop the struggle from continuing. The Supreme Court was forced to uphold the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, despite the fact that more than one of the “honorable” justices—what a joke— were members of the KKK. This decision was not made out of respect for the law, or because the Democratic Party had any say in it, but because the mass movement and sacrifice of the people willed it. The entire American court system is one of the most racist, undemocratic, reactionary, anti-worker, capitalist institutions in the country.
The retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy has recently brought concerns over the makeup of the Supreme Court back into the media. The careful balance of justices is often argued about, and worry over who will choose the replacements and who will replace which justices drives election campaigns across the United States. The truth is, no matter which capitalist party chooses the successor to Justice Kennedy, the Court will still be an institution that upholds the interests of the 1%.
As a lifetime-appointed, unelected body of only nine people with nearly absolute power to decide on the laws and policies that a ect our lives, the Court’s decisions cannot be disregarded. People live or die because of Supreme Court decisions. Policies that deny people basic needs have been upheld by the Supreme Court. When they can get away with it, they rule on cases like Citizens United, for which Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, defending the buying and selling of politicians by the super-rich. They overturn the will of the people. Regulations that protect workers have been sold o piece by piece by the courts. With a stroke of their pens, they wipe out civil and economic rights for the people and uphold growing repression, white supremacy and bigotry.
On the other hand, some cases have signaled major victories for the people. Roe V. Wade was won by decades of struggle in the women’s liberation movement; Lawrence V. Texas (which effectively legalized homosexuality) was won because LGBTQ people fought back against horrifying oppression. Each of these victories were fought for in the streets and in the courts. Without the power of the people to counter the arbitrary power of the Court, we would have won nothing from them. Yet after every major Court decision, the mainstream media touts the power of the Courts and ignores the power of the people. They declare the victory of the law, of the lawyers, of the ruling class, but not of the people.
The Supreme Court is not about upholding the constitution (inadequate as it is). The Court is a political institution. Both major parties squabble over the right to pick the next Justice, not because they care about the people, the law, or the Constitution, but because of the power it grants them to look out for their own capitalist benefactors. Cries of “Save the Supreme Court” merely deceive the people. We can expect even more decisions that attack the working majority but this should only make the Court’s illegitimacy more obvious.
Clearly, the capitalist class is determined to destroy every last shred of the limited rights we have won. Whether they’re attacking us with sexism or racism, they will go to any length to push workers further into poverty. But by organizing, by mounting mass resistance, we can push back against these attacks. At the same time, we will create new organizers with a true understanding of our enemy. The will of the people should not be overruled by the whims of nine unelected people who represent the worst of the capitalist class. We call for a Peoples’ Tribunal, elected and recallable by and from the working majority. We call to abolish the Supreme Court, not enhance their authority to commit crimes against the people.