The Supreme Court opens its new term in October. That happens every year. But this year, the stakes are unlike any before.
America is not the same country it was a year ago. During Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has wielded government power as a weapon, pressuring citizens to surrender their constitutional rights. In a system designed on checks and balances, that leaves the courts as the last line of defense.
District and circuit judges across the country—appointed by both Democrats and Republicans—have risen to that responsibility. They have blocked unlawful orders, resisted executive overreach, and shown independence in the face of a president who openly pursues authoritarian power.
But all too often, their work is unraveled by Trump’s allies on the Supreme Court.
Before the 2024 election, the Court ruled that a president cannot be prosecuted for illegal actions taken while in office. That decision alone reshaped the balance of power between citizens and their government. But it was only the beginning.
In Trump v. CASA, decided last June, the Court’s conservative majority curtailed the ability of judges to block enforcement of unconstitutional policies. The case focused on birthright citizenship, with Trump seeking to strip Americans of citizenship based on their parents’ immigration status. The ruling allowed his administration to enforce the policy for months or years while legal challenges played out—a dangerous precedent that could apply to violations of any constitutional right.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in dissent, issued a stark warning: “No right is safe in the new legal regime the Court creates.”
That warning is already proving prescient. The Court has allowed Trump to deploy masked agents to terrorize Latino communities in California through racial profiling. It has permitted his administration to disappear individuals to foreign countries, where they face imprisonment and torture.
The justices have also sided with Trump in dismantling the independence of federal agencies, allowing him to fire watchdog officials meant to operate free from political interference. They let him unlawfully gut the Department of Education during litigation over his plan to abolish it, despite Congress holding the sole power to dissolve agencies. And they gave him cover to cancel nearly $800 million in medical research grants, halting progress against Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and substance abuse.
The danger extends beyond executive power. This term, the Court is set to hear cases that could weaken what remains of the Voting Rights Act and loosen restrictions on money in politics. They may give states the authority to bar transgender girls from school sports, strike down protections against conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children, and make it harder for prisoners to seek justice when their religious rights are violated.
Taken together, this is not judicial restraint. It is judicial complicity in the erosion of democracy.
If the Court’s majority angers you, it should. Anger, when paired with resolve, can be a catalyst for change. Protest. Organize. Vote. Resist peacefully. The most powerful force in this country is not the Supreme Court, nor the presidency. It is the American people—millions united in defense of their rights, unwilling to surrender their democracy.
