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Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2020

Has the Supreme Court moved to the right since the appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh?

Allegra Taylor, Gigafact
no

Any impact from the addition of two Republican-appointed justices in recent years was hard to discern from the Supreme Court's decisions in its just-concluded term. Though Republican-appointed judges now outnumber judges appointed by Democratic presidents, the Court handed down decisions that often defied expectations. “The data show a decline in 5-4 decisions, more agreement across party lines and a roughly 50-50 split in liberal and conservative decisions,” said Irv Gornstein, the executive director of Georgetown University’s Supreme Court Institute.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush, took observers by surprise when he voted to strike down a Louisiana anti-abortion law and to bar the Trump Administration's effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

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