Why politics is the shallowest way to interpret the Supreme Court

The court isn't as partisan as you've heard

The Supreme Court.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Strawberry Blossom/iStock, str33tcat/iStock)

Judges are less partisan than you've heard.

The party identification of a member of Congress might be a helpful heuristic for understanding his or her leaning on any given issue, but the same does not hold true for judges. "Obama judges" and "Trump judges" regularly disagree amongst themselves and form alliances that confound court watchers who think the institution is party-first.

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Shoshana Weissmann

Shoshana Weissmann is the digital media manager and a policy fellow at the R Street Institute. She manages RSI's social media, email marketing, and website. Her likes include occupational licensing reform, not regulating tech wrong, and long walks on the beach while talking about the Supreme Court. And sloths.