A Brief History of the Supreme Court from 2016-2020, and Why “Packing the Courts” is Logical.

From 2010 to 2016, there were nine justices on the supreme court, four of them tended to lean liberal, and four tended to lean conservative. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was considered a swing vote. Justice Antonin Scalia (lean conservative) died on February 13th, 2016. At this point, there were still over 8 months until the election that would be held for the 45th president of the United States, but the Senate which was controlled by republicans did not allow President Obama to make an appointment. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell noted that “The American people are perfectly capable of having their say on this issue, so let’s give them a voice. Let’s let the American people decide. The Senate will appropriately revisit the matter when it considers the qualifications of the nominee the next president nominates, whoever that might be.” So when Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton and became President in 2017, Justice Neil Gorsuch was nominated and confirmed by the Senate to the Supreme Court. Next, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the justice who was a swing vote, retired in the summer of 2018, allowing the President to nominate Brett Kavanagh to the Supreme Court. Although there were sexual harassment allegations that led to a longer hearing, he was confirmed by the Senate. The then-split court now had another justice who leaned conservative. When 2020 and these past four years couldn’t seem to get any worse, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18th. With the election less than 2 months away, democrats hoped that Republicans would at least stick to their own opinions, in agreeing that the next president who is elected should decide the next justice on the court because this would allow it to the American people’s choice. Not to mention, Biden was already leading Trump in polls nationwide. Although, this is exactly the opposite of what happened. Instead, Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the court, and I do not doubt that the Senate will vote next week to confirm her appointment. Although she is a woman, Amy Coney Barrett fights for the opposite of that of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and with a court that will now have six justices that lean conservative, and three justices that lean liberal, it is possible that decisions such as Roe V. Wade, and allowing same-sex marriage could be overturned. According to a poll taken by NPR in 2016, only 13% of people say that it should be overturned, while 77% say that it should be upheld. The American people have already spoken, this is their voice. We need justices on the court that represent the voice of the American people. On November 3rd, the people will vote for the next president of the United States, but they will also vote for members of the Senate. If Joe Biden wins this election, then the people have chosen his ideals, and those are what should be represented on the Supreme Court. Justices would not even be added unless the Senate was able to agree on it, which means that the Senate would also have to be overturned. If the people vote for these candidates who believe in climate change, black lives matter, women’s rights, and lgbtq+ rights, then that is what should be represented on the highest court in our nation. The court must represent the people.