{"slug":"trump-supreme-court-packing-conservative-shift","title":"Supreme Court: Three Justices in Four Years — Fundamental Rights Overturned","date":"2017-01-31","lastUpdated":"2022-06-24","description":"Trump appointed three Supreme Court Justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — in four years, the most appointments of any single-term president since FDR. The appointments shifted the court to a 6-3 conservative supermajority. In June 2022, the conservative supermajority overturned Roe v. Wade (Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health), eliminating the constitutional right to abortion recognized since 1973. The Barrett appointment was made eight days before the 2020 election after the Senate had previously refused to consider an Obama nominee in an election year.","summary":"Trump's three appointments fundamentally altered the Supreme Court's ideological composition. The Gorsuch seat had been held open for nearly a year through Senate Majority Leader McConnell's refusal to consider Obama nominee Merrick Garland. Barrett was confirmed October 26, 2020 — eight days before the election, after Republicans had cited 'the Garland rule' (refusing election-year nominations) in 2016. The conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, eliminating federal abortion rights recognized for 49 years. The same term saw rollbacks of administrative agency authority (West Virginia v. EPA) and expansion of Second Amendment rights (Bruen).","category":"civil-rights","severity":"critical","ongoing":true,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/us/roe-wade-overturned-supreme-court.html","title":"Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/roe-v-wade-abortion-supreme-court/2022/06/24/story.html","title":"Supreme Court eliminates constitutional right to abortion","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-roe-wade-abortion-overturned","title":"Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf","title":"Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization","publisher":"U.S. Supreme Court"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Supreme-Court","Roe-v-Wade","Dobbs","abortion","civil-rights","first-term","post-presidency"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2016-02-13","title":"Justice Scalia dies — McConnell refuses Garland hearing","summary":"Justice Scalia dies. McConnell announces the Senate will not consider Obama's nominee for 293 days, eventually blocking the appointment. Trump wins the presidency and fills the seat."},{"date":"2017-01-31","title":"Gorsuch nominated — fills stolen Garland seat","summary":"Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch. Gorsuch is confirmed April 7, 2017, filling the seat that had been held open for Obama's nominee Merrick Garland."},{"date":"2018-07-09","title":"Kavanaugh nominated — Ford testimony, limited FBI investigation","summary":"Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh. Christine Blasey Ford testifies she was assaulted by Kavanaugh in high school. Trump orders a limited FBI investigation; Kavanaugh is confirmed 50-48."},{"date":"2020-10-26","title":"Barrett confirmed 8 days before election — Garland rule abandoned","summary":"Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed 8 days before the 2020 election, after Republicans cited an election-year principle in refusing to consider Garland in 2016. The 6-3 conservative supermajority is established."},{"date":"2022-06-24","title":"Dobbs overturns Roe v. Wade — 49 years of precedent reversed","summary":"The Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 6 / Article 17","provision":"Right to life / privacy — elimination of reproductive healthcare access through Dobbs has documented impacts on maternal mortality; UN experts found Dobbs inconsistent with international human rights standards"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Women in states with total abortion bans who lost access to reproductive healthcare; women who subsequently died or suffered serious harm due to delayed healthcare in states with ambiguous medical exceptions; future litigants in cases governed by the new constitutional framework","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; appointed all three justices; campaign promise was to appoint justices who would overturn Roe","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Mitch McConnell","role":"Senate Majority Leader; held Garland seat open 2016; confirmed Barrett 8 days before election 2020; orchestrated confirmation timeline","institution":"U.S. Senate"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2022-06-24","summary":"Updated with Dobbs ruling."}]}}