How the Supreme Court Works

Join the Humanist Community this Sunday, either in person or online, as we hear from Prof. Leland Chan.

In light of such Supreme Court decisions as Dobbs (overturning Roe v. Wade) and Trump v. United States (creation of absolute presidential immunity for official acts), one would think that Supreme Court justices are like super-legislators - unelected officials who have the power to write what are essentially new laws that are the supreme law of the land that neither Congress nor any state may touch. But doesn't the Constitution give federal legislative power exclusively to Congress? Aren't judges more like baseball umpires just calling balls and strikes rather than making the rules? If judges are supposed to be impartial, why is it that in many cases even the casual observer could predict how each judge will decide depending on whether they are liberal or conservative? This lecture breaks it all down: what is the role of the judge and has today's Supreme Court sawed off its Constitutional tether by setting policy according to each judge's own vision for America?
Leland Chan is Adjunct Professor of Law at Golden Gate University. He graduated from U.C. Berkeley School of Law, and served as the long-time general counsel of the California Bankers Association during his legal career.
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If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. COVID protocols will be followed. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.
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