The Supreme Court 2018-2019: Slow Step or Lurch to the Right? [] Lifelong Learning Program at the Instituto Allende

With the addition of Brett Kavanaugh, the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has a decidedly conservative majority. The extent to which that majority moves the Court’s jurisprudence to the right remains to be seen. We will examine the Court’s rulings in its 2018-2019 term involving gerrymandering, class action suits, gun control laws, 4th Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, tribal treaty rights, 1st Amendment church v. state issues, and the scope of 8th Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment as well as excessive fines. Only after we do this will we be able to determine whether the past term has been a slow step or a lurch. Welcome to the ride. It won’t be smooth.Larry Rand has a Bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard, and a Master’s in History from Trinity College.  He taught history and constitutional law at Kent School in Connecticut for 40 years, eighteen of which were spent as chair of the history department.  He is Program Director at the Taconic Learning Center in Salisbury, CT, an adult education program much like the LLP, where he has taught Constitutional Law and Documentary Films.