Having it Both Ways: Proof That the U.S. Supreme Court is "Unfairly" Prosecution-Oriented

Abstract

If the assertions that this essay makes about the Court's "unfair" prosecution-orientation withstand scrutiny,"3 two further conclusions might follow. First, the highest court in the country is so fixated on ensuring that a particular side wins that it is willing with some frequency to sacrifice the most basic attribute of any court worthy of the name-the appearance of fairness. This conclusion is a much more fundamental challenge to the Court's integrity than is the simple acknowledgement that a majority of the Justices are biased in favor of the government. Second, to the extent the Court's unfairness becomes common knowledge, its credibility with the general public could be damaged. The potential threat to the Court's status as the preeminent judicial institution in the nation may not be grave, but it is certainly not trivial.