When the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, on May 17, 1954, it was big news. The Times gave the story banner headlines and ten pages of coverage. The case had been before the Justices since 1952, and it was common knowledge that a decision had been in the works. Many people probably anticipated the outcome, although maybe not that the opinion would be unanimous. Everyone, though, had the same question: Now what?
There is a reason for all the Hogwarts-like trappings that surround the Supreme Court—the super-secret conferences, the ban on cameras, the fact that the Justices read their opinions from a dais, that they never hold press conferences, that they wear black robes. All this gravitas masks the reality that the Court’s powers are largely paper powers. When the Court issues an opinion, it is basically waving a wand in the hope that something will happen. As Alexander Hamilton put it, the Court “has no influence over either the sword or the purse.” The sword belongs to the executive branch, as does the Department of Justice, and unless an Administration is prepared to enforce the Court’s decisions the Court is almost powerless to see that they are carried out.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 07, 2023-Ausgabe von The New Yorker.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 07, 2023-Ausgabe von The New Yorker.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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YULE RULES
“Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point.”
COLLISION COURSE
In Devika Rege’ first novel, India enters a troubling new era.
NEW CHAPTER
Is the twentieth-century novel a genre unto itself?
STUCK ON YOU
Pain and pleasure at a tattoo convention.
HEAVY SNOW HAN KANG
Kyungha-ya. That was the entirety of Inseon’s message: my name.
REPRISE
Reckoning with Donald Trump's return to power.
WHAT'S YOUR PARENTING-FAILURE STYLE?
Whether you’re horrifying your teen with nauseating sex-ed analogies or watching TikToks while your toddler eats a bagel from the subway floor, face it: you’re flailing in the vast chasm of your child’s relentless needs.
COLOR INSTINCT
Jadé Fadojutimi, a British painter, sees the world through a prism.
THE FAMILY PLAN
The pro-life movement’ new playbook.
President for Sale - A survey of today's political ads.
On a mid-October Sunday not long ago sun high, wind cool-I was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for a book festival, and I took a stroll. There were few people on the streets-like the population of a lot of capital cities, Harrisburg's swells on weekdays with lawyers and lobbyists and legislative staffers, and dwindles on the weekends. But, on the façades of small businesses and in the doorways of private homes, I could see evidence of political activity. Across from the sparkling Susquehanna River, there was a row of Democratic lawn signs: Malcolm Kenyatta for auditor general, Bob Casey for U.S. Senate, and, most important, in white letters atop a periwinkle not unlike that of the sky, Kamala Harris for President.
