Supreme Power: Is the Supreme Court the new legislative branch?

American Experience presents a virtual PAST FORWARD conversation exploring the power of the U.S. Supreme Court in shaping the nation’s laws and how we got to this point. This event is inspired by the PBS broadcast premiere of our film, Sandra Day O’Connor: The First on Monday, September 13 at 9/8c.

From Roe v. Wade to Citizen's United v. FEC, American politics in the modern era have been shaped by landmark Supreme Court cases that have fundamentally changed the laws of the land. But should the Supreme Court be so powerful? And when did legislating from the bench begin?

We’ll talk about how a single justice’s rulings can impose laws through the court instead of through Congress, how Sandra Day O’Connor and other justices have exemplified this, and what this ends up meaning for people fighting for legislative changes today.

Featured guests include:

Evan Thomas – Author of the New York Times bestselling biography, First: Sandra Day O’Connor

Kimberly Robinson - Bloomberg Law SCOTUS reporter and co-host of the Cases and Controversies Podcast

The conversation will be moderated by Monica Muñoz Martinez, Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin

The event will be streamed live on American Experience’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

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