"The Roberts Court is the fulfillment of a longstanding Republican dream: a "reliable" Court that consistently rules in its favor, willing to overturn decades of precedent in the process. Lucas A. Powe, Jr., veteran scholar of Supreme Court politics, places the current Court-constructed thanks to the efforts of Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump between 2016 and 2020-in its historical context. Presidents and political parties have long been keen on securing a Supreme Court that will support its policies. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Ulysses S. Grant all felt the need to have the constitutional issues of the day decided in their favor. FDR took it further with his court-packing plan.

After a string of controversial liberal decisions in the 1960s and 1970s by the Warren Court, conservatives made a concerted effort to create a Court that might overturn these decisions and advance their political agenda. This effort ran into snags along the way and progressed in fits and starts, but it finally became a reality with Donald Trumps first term. For much of the countrys history, Americans have taken little-and more likely no-notice of the Supreme Court, even though the decisions handed down by the Court have often mattered a great deal to the average person. We are currently living in one of those times where the Court has an outsized presence in American life and politics. As a result of Trumps "reliable" justices, conservatives have had resounding success on abortion, guns, and religion in 2022, gutting affirmative action in 2023, and protecting Trump in 2024, with still more precedent-defying decisions to come. A Reliable Supreme Court explains how we arrived at this critical moment in American history"-- Provided by publisher."An essential history of how both parties fought for control of the Supreme Court-and how Republicans have seized the advantage.In Supreme Control, leading Supreme Court scholar Lucas A.

Powe, Jr. explains how the United States arrived at the Republican-dominated Roberts Court that is transforming constitutional law and reshaping everyday American life. What once seemed unthinkable, a Court willing to overturn long-settled precedent to advance a single political vision, has become reality.Powe argues that todays Court fulfills a decades-long Republican project: the creation of a reliably conservative Supreme Court. Built through a carefully orchestrated strategy culminating in the judicial appointments made during Donald Trumps presidency, the Roberts Court represents an unprecedented concentration of power within one political coalition. Placing these developments in historical context, Powe shows how the current Court is only the latest in a long battle for partisan dominance of American law.The struggle to control the Supreme Court, Powe demonstrates, is as old as the republic itself. From Washington, Adams, and Jefferson to Lincoln, Grant, and FDR, presidents have sought a Court that would secure their constitutional priorities.

After a string of controversial liberal rulings in the 1960s and 1970s by the Warren Court, conservatives launched a sustained, long-term effort to reverse that legacy. That campaign advanced unevenly for decades until it finally succeeded in the twenty-first century with Donald Trumps first term.Today, the consequences are unmistakable. The Courts recent decisions on abortion, gun rights, religion, affirmative action, and executive power have thrust it into the center of American political life, with sweeping implications for democracy, governance, and individual rights.As Americans continue to grapple with the Courts immense authority, Supreme Control provides the clearest explanation yet of how we reached this critical moment in history and what it means for the nations future"-- Provided by publisher.