Michael Klarman

The (US) Supreme Court for much of its history has approved of racial segregation and disenfranchisement, the subordination of women and gays and lesbians, the criminalization of dissident speech, and a very narrow conception of the separation of church and state and of the rights of criminal defendants.

In the end, we, the American people, determine what sort of country we live in–the Constitution and the courts play a…