Today is the last scheduled conference day for the U.S. Supreme Court this term. The court and its justices have been in the news a lot lately. A number of recent controversial decisions is drawing the public's ire. Additionally, a flood of ethics questions that have been raised concerning Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Midday's guest is veteran court watcher and author Michael Waldman. He is the President and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, and the author of a compelling and provocative book about the outsized role the court has come to play in American democracy. He begins the book with a reminder that a year ago, over the course of just three days in June of 2022, the conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade, radically loosened restrictions on guns and hobbled the ability of government agencies to protect public health.

Did the framers envision that the nation's highest court would hold the position of power it does in American society and our governance? Of all the threats to democracy we have witnessed in the last few years, should the court itself be considered a threat? Waldman answers, “Yes.”

The book is called The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America. Waldman joins Tom on Zoom from New York.

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