A fundamental shift in the Supreme Court was set in motion in 2020 with the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. President Trump appointed Amy Coney Barrett as his third appointee, forming a conservative 6-3 supermajority. The Supreme Court’s jurisprudence is having a profound effect on public health, safety, and environmental policy. This Viewpoint looks back at the Supreme Court’s 2021 and 2022 terms and forward to the 2023 term and beyond.
Rather than deferring to scientific decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court often struck them down. The justices invalidated New York and California’s restrictions on religious gatherings (eTable in the Supplement) despite considerable evidence that congregate settings pose a high transmission risk. The Supreme Court similarly overturned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratorium despite findings that evictions contribute to the spread of SARS-CoV-2.