Supreme Court relies on history to make history

+ the 'sovereign citizens' movement US Edition - Today's top story: 1789 or 1866 is not 2024: Why historians have a difficult task in guiding Supreme Court justices as they decide today's legal issues [View in browser]( US Edition | 20 June 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( We’re still on high alert this week and next for Supreme Court rulings in at least eight cases. The court issues opinions on certain days, and those of us watching for rulings get up in the morning and log onto the excellent SCOTUSblog. We – along with 3,000 other court-watchers who hail from Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, somewhere in Kansas and even one person who announced on the SCOTUSblog live feed, “Greetings from Tuscany, wine at hand” – all wait until 10 a.m., when the court begins releasing the day’s opinions … one by one. Among those also anticipating rulings, I imagine, are the many historians who have been sharing their expertise with the court recently, filing what are called “amicus” or “friend of the court” briefs, in cases concerning abortion rights, election law, gun regulation and others. “Lawyers, advocacy groups and think tanks [have been soliciting historians’ expertise]( on the history underlying certain cases,” writes Amy Hart, a historian and program manager for public scholarship and engagement at the University of California, Davis. “But the new relevance of historians has also raised fundamental questions about the role of history, and of historians themselves, in guiding the present,” Hart writes. “When a particular conclusion is sought by lawyers, activists or politicians, does this expectation affect the way historians approach their research?” [ [Readers like you support our work to bring trustworthy information to the public, without a paywall.]( ] Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Democracy Historians are coming out of the archives and sharing their expertise. uschools/Getty Images [1789 or 1866 is not 2024: Why historians have a difficult task in guiding Supreme Court justices as they decide today’s legal issues]( Amy Hart, University of California, Davis Lawyers, advocacy groups and think tanks are soliciting historians’ expertise on the history underlying certain Supreme Court cases. Yet this history-for-hire approach raises questions. A group of formerly enslaved people gather on a South Carolina plantation during the Union occupation in 1862. Corbis/ Getty Images [Paying reparations for slavery is possible – based on a study of federal compensation to farmers, fishermen, coal miners, radiation victims and 70 other groups]( Linda J. Bilmes, Harvard Kennedy School; Cornell William Brooks, Harvard Kennedy School Since the 1930s, the federal government has made payments to victims of financial hardships and social injustices. But for those suffering from the harms of slavery, the US remains silent. A 2010 photo shows an unofficial license plate on a vehicle owned by an Ohio resident who was later convicted on federal charges connecting him to ‘sovereign citizen’ movement activities. AP Photo/Jay LaPrete [Modern-day outlaws, ‘sovereign citizens’ threaten the rule of law]( Christine Sarteschi, Chatham University At the core of sovereign citizen beliefs is the denial of the legitimacy of the government. They do not believe they must obey any laws, nor that they can be held to account for lawbreaking. [How Biden’s executive order to protect immigrant spouses of citizens from deportation will benefit their families and communities]( Jane Lilly López, Brigham Young University; Kristina Fullerton Rico, University of Michigan Biden’s executive action will shield approximately 500,000 undocumented spouses of US citizens, as well as 50,000 children, from deportation and give them the legal right to stay in the US. [Jewish critics of Zionism have clashed with American Jewish leaders for decades]( Marjorie N. Feld, Babson College American foreign aid to Israel has long relied on the support of American Jews. But American Jews have never been unified in their support for Israel or about Israel’s role in American Jewish life. [US laws created during slavery are still on the books. A legal scholar wants to at least acknowledge that history in legal citations]( Justin Simard, Michigan State University Since 2020, a team of legal researchers has collected more than 12,000 cases involving enslaved people and more than 40,000 cases that cite those cases. [Court blocks grants to Black women entrepreneurs in case that could restrict DEI efforts by companies and charities]( Angela R. Logan, University of Notre Dame A scholar of nonprofits explains why she’s concerned that the decision in the Fearless Fund case could discourage all efforts focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. - [Abortion bans are changing what it means to be young in America]( Julie Maslowsky, University of Michigan The 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned 50 years of abortion rights is affecting where young people choose to go to college, to work and to live, as well as the way they vote. - [Americans used to unite over tragic events − and now are divided by them]( Thomas D. Beamish, University of California, Davis Public tragedies are heartrending events that gain widespread public attention. But where once prominent tragedies often brought Americans together, such tragedies no longer unify the country. - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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