The Right-Wing Roberts Court Hits Its Stride

Now that President Bush's Supreme Court nominees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, have completed their first full term together, it's time to survey the damage they have wrought. In one 5-4 ruling after another, the Court took a scalpel to Americans' rights and liberties and racked up victories for powerful business and government interests over individuals.

It was, in fact, totally predictable that the Court would move to the right when Justice Alito replaced moderate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and Justice Kennedy -- who is far more conservative than Justice O'Connor was -- became the new swing vote. This term has shown just how far to the right the Court has shifted.

Throughout the term, Justice Kennedy sided with the ultraconservative bloc in a number of key, 5-4 rulings that chipped away at the social justice progress of the last half century. For example:

• In Carhart v. Gonzales, the Court upheld the federal ban on so-called "partial birth" abortions, despite having struck down a nearly identical state ban in 2000, a blow against women's right to choose.


• In Ledbetter v. Goodyear, the Court severely limited the ability of victims of pay discrimination under Title VII to recover wages unfairly denied to them, leaving thousands of workers who have suffered pay discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion or national origin with no legal recourse.


• In a combined ruling in Meredith v. Jefferson County Public Schools and Parents Involved in Community Schools v Seattle School District, the Court struck down the voluntary integration and diversity plans of two public school districts, undermining the ability of school districts to remedy the long legacy of segregation and inequality in many of our nation's schools.


• In Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Court limited the ability of individual taxpayers to challenge government expenditures that violate the Establishment Clause, undermining the separation of church and state.


• In Bowles v. Russell, the Court ruled that a litigant who trusted an order from a federal judge giving him 17 days to file an appeal was prohibited from appealing because the judge had given him the wrong deadline (a statute allowed only 14 days), a blow to anyone who puts faith in the promises of the judicial system.

Regrettably, this is just the beginning. The Supreme Court's right-wing activism is here to stay.

Indeed, when it comes to stacking the Supreme Court with right-wing justices, President Bush can say "Mission Accomplished" and mean it. Yet the right-wing bloc of justices is still one vote short of a rock solid majority that would push the Court even further to the right.

We can't just stand by as right-wing justices overturn or ignore longstanding precedent and undermine fundamental American rights and protections. We must remain vigilant, ensure that voters have the future of the Supreme Court in mind when they go to the polls, and, when vacancies occur, push for new justices who share our values. The gains we have made as a nation over the last half century are on the line.