The US Supreme Court has a long history of firmly defending its philosophy of neutrality and did the same for the recent and historic overturn of Roe. Wade. But according to law professor Cedric Merlin Powell, the Court\u2019s neutral stance on cases impacting marginalized groups \u2013 including women and communities of color \u2013 ignores inequalities and in doing so, worsens them. Professor Powell sat down to speak with us about the serious harms caused by a judicial branch whose decisionmaking ignores the realities of racism, sexism, and other oppressive forces in our society.\xa0
For more of Cedric Merlin Powell\u2019s work:
Check out his SSN brief: How Race-Neutral Rulings by the Supreme Court Perpetuate Inequalities
Pre-order his forthcoming book , Post-Racial Constitutionalism and the Roberts Court
Last but not least, SSN is excited to highlight a new podcast series, When the People Decide, by The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at PennState. In this series, Jenna Spinelle tells the stories of activists, legislators, academics, and average citizens who changed their cities, states, and the country by taking important issues directly to voters \u2014 like Medicaid expansion in Idaho, sentencing reform in California, and LGBTQ workplace protections in Ohio.\xa0\xa0