(Photo
by
Brendan
Smialowski/Getty
Images)
You
know
Supreme
Court
season
is
right
around
the
corner
because
the
justices
are
coming
out
of
the
woodwork
to
give
speeches
on
their
deep
thoughts.
Fresh
off
of
Friday’s
John
Roberts
speech
—
a
desperate
attempt
to
insist
the
Supreme
Court
is
still
legitimate
despite
cruelly
taking
away
rights
from
over
50%
of
the
country’s
population
—
Elena
Kagan
spoke
at
Temple
Emanu-El
in
New
York.
And
she
pretty
much
has
the
exact
opposite
take
on
the
Court’s
legitimacy,
saying,
“Judges
create
legitimacy
problems
for
themselves
…
when
they
instead
stray
into
places
where
it
looks
like
they’re
an
extension
of
the
political
process
or
when
they’re
imposing
their
own
personal
preferences.”
Because
she
knows
that
legitimacy
is
earned
and
when
nakedly
political
decisions
happen
—
remember
the
institution
is
supposed
to
be
above
the
fray,
hence
those
infernal
lifetime
appointments
—
that
directly
impact
the
health
and
wellbeing
of
people,
well,
a
hit
to
legitimacy
is
probably
the
least
of
the
reactions
you
can
expect.
As
reported
by
MSN,
her
comments
seemed
to
respond
directly
to
the
Chief:
“Simply
because
people
disagree
with
an
opinion
is
not
a
basis
for
questioning
the
legitimacy
of
the
court,”
Roberts
said.The
chief
justice
has
been
a
consistent
defender
of
the
court’s
legitimacy
against
complaints
that
the
court
is
not
much
different
from
the
political
branches
of
the
government.But
Kagan
said
the
court
risks
damaging
its
own
legitimacy
when
big
changes
in
the
law
follow
changes
in
the
court’s
membership.The
public
has
a
right
to
expect,
she
said,
“that
changes
in
personnel
don’t
send
the
entire
legal
system
up
for
grabs.”
She’s
right,
of
course.
But
let’s
also
be
upfront
about
the
Dobbs
decision.
It’s
not
*just*
disagreeing
with
a
decision
but
being
deeply
offended
that
the
change
in
personnel
can
strip
people
of
rights
that
were
established
precedent
for
50
years.
And
we
KNOW
Roberts
knows
this,
that’s
why
he
wrote
a
concurrence
in
Dobbs
rather
than
join
the
majority.
It’s
why
Roberts
tried
to
convince
a
fellow
conservative
to
sign
onto
his
decision
and
what
fuels
the
speculation
that
someone
on
the
right
was
behind
the
leak
of
the
draft
Dobbs
decision
in
the
first
place.
But
Roberts
is
really
hoping
he
isn’t
presiding
over
the
Court
that
history
will
say
ended
the
legitimacy
of
the
institution.
Kagan
knows
better.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
(@Kathryn1).