A Review of Significant Supreme Court Decisions of the 2022-23 Term
The following excerpt is published with the permission from the SC Lawyer Magazine (September 2023) and was written by Professor Kevin Eberle, a full-time Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing Professor at Charleston School of Law.
Two years ago, the review of the marquee cases from the 2021-2022 Supreme Court term included legally significant cases, but few can probably recall them by name or impact. Last year, a shift toward a conservative majority led to cases that not only changed the law — sometimes dramatically — but also lit up the internet forums and newspaper front pages for weeks. The reversal of Roe v. Wade has, even a year later, continued to shape political conversations.
The recap last year predicted that one of the most significant long-term changes did not directly concern the decisions themselves but the sharp decline in public confidence in the Court. Support for and confidence in the Court had sagged to the lowest point recorded since Gallup began tracking the number (support has dropped even further since then).
The 2022-23 term produced important decisions with decidedly conservative bents on hot button topics … whatever happens — either self-imposed by the Court itself or imposed on it by Congress — might have implications on which justices are able to hear cases and will likely lead to change in public reaction to the Court, either stanching the loss of public confidence or hastening the slide. Lawyers should be careful to follow the discussion of high court ethics in 2023-24.
