ACS Statement on the Start of New SCOTUS Term

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy Rodriguez, media@acslaw.org

Washington, DC – The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023-24 term starts on October 2, 2023. In anticipation of the new term, the American Constitution Society released the following statement:

“The Supreme Court is in the midst of a legitimacy crisis after being packed by the Right and the resulting conservative supermajority’s repeated disregard for precedent and judicial restraint,” said ACS President Russ Feingold. “From Shelby to Dobbs to Bruen to SFFA, the Court has weakened voter protections, eroded our fundamental freedoms, undermined public health and safety, and hampered efforts to advance racial justice. Against this backdrop, we brace for the new term and the combination of cases that could see this conservative supermajority further distort the Court’s role.”

“We should be able to look to our highest court to protect our fundamental freedoms and to help realize the promise of equal protection under the law. Instead, we must prepare for the very real possibility that we will need to protect our rights and democracy in the face of further Supreme Court hostility,” said ACS Executive Vice President Zinelle October. “This term, the Court could throttle the federal government’s ability to solve America’s problems, make it harder for voters to challenge racial gerrymandering and harder to enforce federal civil rights laws, including antidiscrimination protections for employees and public accommodation protections for people with disabilities, amongst other sweeping and devastating changes to our laws and legal systems.”

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AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY
The American Constitution Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. Through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others, our mission is to support and advocate for laws and legal systems that strengthen our democratic legitimacy, uphold the rule of law, and redress the founding failures of our Constitution and enduring inequities in our laws in pursuit of realized equality. For more information, visit us at www.acslaw.org or on Twitter @acslaw.