Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The Supreme Court Hears Heller

The US Supreme Court heard the Heller case (transcript here) today, and while Instapundit thinks that the sentiment on the Court appears to be leaning towards striking down the District of Columbia's gun ban and that it would actually be a bad thing for the GOP and McCain, I actually have a slightly different take.

The Heller case shows what putting conservatives on the Supreme Court can do to controversial cases and actually could burnish the GOP chances in the fall if McCain plays this right. Big "if". I know.

Conservatives like Alito and Chief Justice Roberts have started to push the court to the right, and the next President will likely get to nominate two or three more justices to the court. That makes a world of difference, and if Stevens and/or Ginsberg leave the court, you could seriously tip the balance to the right. Now, many cases might have Kennedy running as the swing vote, but if one or two conservatives are elevated to the Supreme Court, you will have a solid bloc on the right of five or even six justices (CJ Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Scalia, plus the one or two new justices). It could be transformative in how the court approaches various legal disputes. However, if either Clinton or Obama wins, they would likely only be able to replace existing liberals on the Supreme Court with other liberals - holding the ideological line on the Court.

SCOTUSblog has more in depth coverage of the Heller case.

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