US Supreme Court moves quickly on conservative agenda

Significance

A majority of the Court's members are now prepared to risk its institutional legitimacy by overturning precedents and altering legal doctrines that would have remained in place but for the views of recent appointees.

Impacts

• Chief Justice Roberts’s ability to lead the Court has been compromised by its rightward shift, reducing his vote’s importance.
• Surprisingly strident language in opinions indicates fraying respect for competing theories of law within the Court.
• Precedents based on the right to privacy, including protections for contraception and same-sex marriage, are in jeopardy.
• The retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer on June 30 removes a major proponent of collegiality from the Court.