Key facts
- Mark Sherman, a Supreme Court reporter for The Associated Press, retired after 20 years.
- He observed the court's ideological shift to the right, influenced by political actions and presidential appointments.
- The death of Justice Antonin Scalia and subsequent blocking of Merrick Garland's nomination were pivotal.
- Donald Trump appointed three conservative justices, significantly altering the court's balance.
- Justices increasingly time retirements to ensure ideological succession.
- Security for justices has become a major concern, highlighted by an attempted assassination.
Mark Sherman, who has covered the Supreme Court for The Associated Press for two decades, has retired, reflecting on the court's significant ideological shift to the right during his tenure. Sherman noted that this shift was influenced by a combination of factors, including unexpected vacancies, political maneuvering, and the rise of Donald Trump.
Sherman recalled a moment early in his career when Justice Stephen Breyer expressed frustration with the new conservative majority. He observed that over his 20 years, the court moved from a slight rightward tilt with the shift from Sandra Day O’Connor to Anthony Kennedy, to a more pronounced conservative supermajority.
A pivotal moment Sherman highlighted was the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. While liberals hoped for a pivot to the left, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's strategy to keep the seat open until after the election, which Donald Trump won, led to the appointment of three conservative justices. This outcome reversed expectations of a liberal court and instead solidified the triumph of the conservative legal project.
Sherman also discussed how justices now often time their retirements to ensure their successors share their judicial philosophy, citing examples of former clerks being appointed. He contrasted this with the past, when justices were less publicly known and moved more unobtrusively. However, security concerns have escalated dramatically, particularly after an attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
While Chief Justice John Roberts maintains that judges are independent, Sherman observed that presidents now nominate justices based on their records, leading to a clear partisan divide in appointments since 2010. The increased public profile of justices, with many writing books and touring, also marks a change from previous decades.