John Roberts' Supreme Court: An Assault on Civil Rights

For Politics365, Dr. Wilmer J. Leon argues that John Roberts is reigniting conservative activism. He describes the chief justice as the "new tip of an old iceberg." Suggested Reading Three Friends Were Headed To A Beyoncรฉ Concert, But One Dies On the Way. Guess What The Other Two Did Next? Our Fave Moments From A$AP…

For Politics365, Dr. Wilmer J. Leon argues that John Roberts is reigniting conservative activism. He describes the chief justice as the "new tip of an old iceberg."

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?

The Warren Court is considered by many to have been the most "liberal" in the history of the Supreme Court. Warren gave us theย Brownย decision in 1954, the exclusionary rule inย Mapp v. Ohioย in 1961to prevent tainted evidence from being used in court and demanding that police get warrants to conduct searches; our Miranda rights inย Miranda v. Arizonaย 1966;ย and theย right to counsel in state casesย Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).

Since theย Warren Court, the Burger Court, the Rehnquist Court, and now the Roberts Court (2005 - present) have worked to overturn judicialย precedent in the areas ofย protections for criminal defendantsย (US. V. Leonย (no relation) 1984 andย Nix v. Williamsย 1984),ย they have tilted the scales in favor of the police and prosecutors (Wyoming v. Houghtonย 1999 andย Hudson v. Michiganย 2005), and have made it more difficult to use racial statistics to show bias in death penalty cases (McCleskey v. Kemp 1987).

Now with the recent decision inย Shelby County v. Holderย the Robertsย Court has continuedย theย conservative assault on Civil Rights as heย and his henchmen haveย ignored the facts of voter suppression outlinedย inย Voter Suppression in 2012; Past is Prologue.ย Roberts wrote, "Our country has changed, and while any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions โ€ฆ " Yes, Congress must ensure that legislation speaks to current conditions but the Court must also stand by the precedent established and protect the rights of voters who have historically been and are currently targets of state actors who'sย sole aim is to deny people the right to vote based on race, age, and other factors that tend to indicate party affiliation.ย 

Read Dr. Wilmer J. Leon's entire piece at Politics365.

The Rootย aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety ofย opinionsย from all perspectives, whether or not thoseย opinionsย are shared by our editorial staff.ย 

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