Turning Right: The New Supreme Court
and Issues of Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage, and Mass Incarceration
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
4:00 p.m. CLP
Watkins Room, Trone Student Center
Presented by the Riley Institute® at Furman and the Department of Politics and International Affairs
This year, Furman University recognized Constitution Day with an event focusing on the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution and how that might change with the impending confirmation of Brent Kavanaugh. Republicans are delighted that President Trump is fulfilling his promise to appoint a conservative justice to the court; Democrats predict that this shift to the right is going to negatively impact the lives of American people. What do we know about the way the Court makes decisions and what will the shift to John Roberts as the center of the Court mean for ordinary citizens?
On September 18, we heard from two professors in Furman’s Politics and International Affairs Department about this new Supreme Court. Constitutional law professor Teresa Cosby and abortion politics specialist Dr. Glen Halva-Neubauer provided insight into what we know about how the court operates, the impact of Roe v. Wade and its possible undoing, and what the rightward shift of the Court might mean for issues such as same-sex marriage and mass incarceration. Dr. David Fleming moderated a question and answer session to follow.