# Harris and SCOTUS
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [November 5, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719 "2024-11-05T15:06:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/1 "2024-11-05T15:06:13Z")
If Harris is elected and gets some SCOTUS appointments, with her being a former prosecutor can we assume that she will appoint justices that will continue to erode civil rights? I hate Biden with a passion but I will credit him or appointing a defense attorney to the highest court who might consider the Bill of Rights in her decisions. Strangely THAT is the diversity Brown Jackson brings to the court, even more than being a woman of color.
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### Author:  [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/2 "2024-11-05T15:17:54Z")
What metric do you use to conclude that Brown Jackson supports civil rights in a way that Kagan or Sotomayor do not? I do not follow the Court as closely as I used to, but in major civil rights cases they seem to vote together.
Why would you assume that Harris would appoint justices that are unlike Kagan, Sotomayor or Brown Jackson? Just because a portion of a career has been as a prosecutor? She also served as CA attorney general, senator and vice president. Don’t you think that those positions might have influenced her ideals about what type of justice she might appoint?
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/3 "2024-11-05T15:20:31Z")
> [@mjmartin](#):
>
> What metric do you use to conclude that Brown Jackson supports civil rights in a way that Kagan or Sotomayor do not?
My point was that she is a former defense attorney, something that SCOTUS has severely lacked in its history.
> [@mjmartin](#):
>
> Why would you assume that Harris would appoint justices that are unlike Kagan, Sotomayor or Brown Jackson? Just because a portion of a career has been as a prosecutor? She also served as CA attorney general, … Don’t you think that those positions might have influenced her ideals about what type of justice she might appoint?
Yes, a prosecutor loves hanging judges.
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### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/4 "2024-11-05T15:22:06Z")
> [@mjmartin](#):
>
> Just because a portion of a career has been as a prosecutor?
The number of civil rights and defense attorneys that started their careers as prosecutors is substantial.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/5 "2024-11-05T15:22:28Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Yes, a prosecutor loves hanging judges.
#notallprosecutors
I’m a former public defender, and I agree with your praise of the Brown Jackson appointment. However, I have no fear about what a President Harris would do with court vacancies
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### Author:  [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/6 "2024-11-05T15:25:02Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> My point was that she is a former defense attorney, something that SCOTUS has severely lacked in its history.
No doubt. I haven’t seen the numbers, but I think that defense attorneys are generally poorly represented on the bench. But I don’t think that there is any good reason to speculate that Harris will do a worse job than Clinton, Obama or Biden in appointing justices.
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Yes, a prosecutor loves hanging judges.
And if Harris’ only relevant career history were as a prosecutor, I would understand your concern.
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### Author:  [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/7 "2024-11-05T15:26:06Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#):
>
> The number of civil rights and defense attorneys that started their careers as prosecutors is substantial.
Agreed. Which is why I don’t understand the OP’s concerns about Harris and her ability to select justices that will support civil rights.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/8 "2024-11-05T15:26:37Z")
> [@mjmartin](#):
>
> Which is why I don’t understand the OP’s concerns about Harris and her ability to select justices that will support civil rights.
Hence why I asked the question.
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### Author:  [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/9 "2024-11-05T15:34:17Z")
It’s not going to be possible to answer this question unless you are more explicit about what you mean.
Every single justice “considered” the 2nd amendment in Bruen. They came to different conclusions about what constitutes an “infringement” because like the rest of the bill of rights, it’s been interpreted different ways by different people throughout history. So trivially, yes, Harris would nominate people who will consider the bill of rights just like every president since George Washington did.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/10 "2024-11-05T15:38:47Z")
Without a D-led Senate she will get to appoint zero justices even if all nine incumbents die or retire during her administration.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/11 "2024-11-05T15:56:51Z")
> [@DeadTreasSecretaries](#):
>
> It’s not going to be possible to answer this question unless you are more explicit about what you mean.
The last few decades, SCOTUS has eroded the Bill of Rights. Allowing greater freedom for cops in search and seizure, the right to remain silent (_Salinas_), allowing qualified immunity where the cops obviously and unreasonably broke the law, civil asset forfeiture, etc.
Will Harris as a former prosecutor appoint justices that continue that trend or appoint justices that stem the tide.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/12 "2024-11-05T16:04:18Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Will Harris as a former prosecutor appoint justices that continue that trend or appoint justices that stem the tide.
I hope we get to find out. If she is elected, and if she does get some appointments, I guarantee you they’ll be better than Trump’s.
I don’t recall her saying anything during the campaign about how she would choose a Justice. She seems like a reasonable person, and I assume she’ll make good choices. For whatever its worth, the former prosecutors who have become trial court judges around here have been better for some reason than the former defense attorneys. (It could just be too small of a sample to mean anything)
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/13 "2024-11-05T16:12:05Z")
> [@Procrustus](#):
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> I guarantee you they’ll be better than Trump’s.
That’s not much of a guaranty. Americans selected at random would have made better appointments.
> [@Procrustus](#):
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> I don’t recall her saying anything during the campaign about how she would choose a Justice.
I think she learned from Biden’s gaffe. Don’t get me wrong, Brown Jackson was a good selection but Biden did himself no favors committing himself to picking an African-American woman.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/14 "2024-11-05T16:37:40Z")
That, or she’d have to compromise so badly that we’d get awful people on the bench anyway.
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/15 "2024-11-05T18:46:11Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> Without a D-led Senate she will get to appoint zero justices even if all nine incumbents die or retire during her administration.
It wouldn’t be fair to let a (Democratic) President nominate a justice to the Supreme Court in the last three and a half years before a presidential election. The American people should speak through their vote, and if we don’t like what they have to say, well, we’ll come up with another bullshit rationalization to block SCOTUS nominations.
Stranger
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/16 "2024-11-05T19:15:35Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Biden did himself no favors committing himself to picking an African-American woman.
Other than getting elected by that promise.
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [November 5, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/17 "2024-11-05T19:17:39Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Yes, a prosecutor loves hanging judges.
Like this prosecutor?
> **[George Gascón Says He's Not Trying to Win Votes, Menendez Bros Should Go Free](https://amp.tmz.com/2024/11/05/george-gascon-says-menendez-brothers-should-go-free-not-trying-to-win-votes/)**
>
> L.A. County D.A. George Gascón is setting the record straight, saying his push to recommend resentencing for the Menendez brothers isn’t about public buzz -- it’s about doing what he personally believes is right.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [November 6, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harris-and-scotus/1009719/18 "2024-11-06T00:24:17Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> with her being a former prosecutor can we assume that she will appoint justices that will continue to erode civil rights?
Is there any data to back up such a claim?