The Magna Carta, or Great Charter, turns 800 years old next June and yet, like an age-defying elixir, it has been popping up with increasing frequency in U.S. Supreme Court opinions.

By one organization’s count, references by the high court to the English charter grew from fewer than a dozen decisions before the Civil War to more than 30 between 1870 and 1900 and more than 60 since 1940.