At City Journal, James Piereson asks the question, “Is the Supreme Court Out of Step with Public Opinion?” His answer in brief is “No—it is more accurate to say that the Court is at odds with the progressive doctrines of those who make this claim.”
Actually, whether or not the Court is out of step is an irrelevancy. Being “in step” with the public is the job of the legislature and executive. Their degree of being “in step” is tested every two years with a national election. We do not elect SCOTUS justices nor expect or require them to conform to public opinion.
The Supreme Court’s job is deciding whether various acts are or are not constitutional. That is, legal under the basic law of the land - the Constitution as amended and subsequently interpreted by former Courts.
Amendment processes exist by which the constitution can be made to conform to public opinion. They are intentionally cumbersome, slow, difficult and used only rarely.
