Note

We’ve come a long way since Marbury Vs. Madison when Justice Marshall very cautiously trying to suggested that Jefferson administration was doing the right job. It is a court that has developed enormous power and enormous prestige in the political system. The Supreme Court of United States is the most powerful judicial crime bureau in the world. It tells us what the relationships of the co-equal branches of the federal government are, and what the relationships of the Federal government to the states are, and what the relationship of what a government is and to individual rights and liberties. That is a very broad mending. The court is no longer timid. Both the left and the right on the court are activists. By that you mean, judges who see their essential roles as deciding the hard questions that are faced the American society. I don’t see any tendency to hold back. Today, the Court stands as a huge institution at the center of American politics. And whether that is a good or bad thing is a question that people really ought to think about. The legitimacy and the acceptance of what the Court does depends upon how people view the institution. The Court is always vulnerable and has been throughout the history. And I think justices, myself and other should view as trustees and extreme valuable institutions that built up over the centuries and has served the country very well in ensuring the rule of law and has the ability to reach unpopular decisions that would nonetheless be followed