David Cole

The Supreme Court Picks Its Battles

June ended with far-reaching upsets for civil rights, but a closer look at the Supreme Court's decisions across the 2022–2023 term suggests the justices are not immune to public scrutiny.

Originalism’s Limits

An Abortion Drug Tests the Supreme Court

How the justices resolve a case over the FDA's longstanding approval of mifepristone will reveal whether they rule by personal ideology or by judicial restraint.

Originalism’s Charade

Two new books make a devastating case against claims that the Constitution should be interpreted on the basis of its purported “original meaning.”

Equal Protection on the Docket

In its new term, the Supreme Court has chosen to hear several cases that, if overturned, could set efforts to protect minority groups back decades.

Egregiously Wrong

In several of the term’s most controversial cases, the Court’s new majority applied originalism to disastrous effect.

The End of Roe

A symposium of writers on a future without the right to reproductive freedom.

A Heedless Majority

In voting to overturn Roe, the Trump-appointed justices on the Supreme Court have proven themselves to be truly radical.

When Rights Went Right

Is the American conception of constitutional rights too absolute?

The University and Freedom of Expression

It is no mere academic matter if Georgetown Law succumbs to pressure to fire Ilya Shapiro over a pair of offensive tweets.

Let the Decision Stand

Every argument against Roe was squarely rejected in the Supreme Court's 1992 Casey decision, and nothing has changed since then except the composition of the Court.

Surprising Consensus at the Supreme Court

With narrow rulings in many of its most controversial cases, the Court defied predictions of a sharp turn to the right.

Armed with Arguments

“Today, the NRA is on the defensive, and the gun control movement is stronger. That political fight will more likely determine gun regulation than the Supreme Court.”

A Rush to Execute

In six months, the Trump administration put to death over three times as many people as the federal government had executed in the previous six decades.

Can Liberals Win in a Conservative Court?

Recent history suggests the justices don’t like being too out of step with the country—especially if they feel under scrutiny. So that’s our job: watch them.

A New Assault on Marriage Equality

A case before the Supreme Court tests whether its conservative justices will violate their long-standing constitutional principles in order to expand religious liberty.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1933–2020

The late justice not only wrote about the connection between sex equality and liberty; she lived it.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1933–2020

Her career illustrates that one can be radical and incrementalist at the same time; indeed, as she argued, it may be the only way to achieve enduring change.

The Court’s Declarations of Independence

In the end, the Supreme Court’s 2019–2020 term was much less conservative than anyone had expected.

Less Punishment, More Justice

We need to rethink the institutional structures that will determine criminal justice policy for years to come.