The U.S. Supreme Court has been embroiled with controversy for its entire existence. However, controversy is the name of the game when nine justices interpret laws that were written in 1776 and such interpretation affects hundreds of millions of people. It’s true, justices serving on the Supreme Court have a very difficult job since each case they decide has passionate proponents and opponents on the issues therein. Thus, justices cannot be concerned about deciding a case on what the “public majority” would prefer, as it is impossible to please the entire country. 

Historically, the general public has been taught that the judiciary is an independent branch of government. However, this ideology seems further from the truth with respect to the current Supreme Court. In fact, the last four nominated Supreme Court Justices were all confirmed either on or close to party lines. Of the four, Justice Neil Gorsuch has the greatest margin of victory with 54 votes in the affirmative and 45 votes against his appointment. In the last 50 years prior to Gorsuch’s appointment, only one other justice has risen to the Supreme Court with less than a 10 point margin. That justice was Justice Clarence Thomas (52-48). Thus, five of the nine Supreme Court justices were chosen in a partisan fashion. Even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Antonin Scalia, who were each fierce advocates for their respective and widely different ideologies, were confirmed 96-3 and 98-0, respectively. 

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