General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Worst Supreme Court decision of all time [View all]The Velveteen Ocelot
(116,159 posts)Which the state legislatures are doing quite effectively these days. There have been a lot of bad Supreme Court decisions. There have also been a lot of good ones - these are just a few I can think of off the top of my head. Look them up; you'll see that all of them protect individual rights from the effects of bad legislation.
Roe v. Wade (protecting abortion rights)
Griswold v. Connecticut (birth control legal per right to privacy)
Loving v. Virginia (interracial marriage)
Mapp. v. Ohio (unreasonable search and seizure in state courts)
Miranda v. Arizona (requires informing suspect of rights upon arrest)
Gideon v. Wainright (right to appointed counsel)
Brown v. Board of Education (striking down de jure segregation of schools)
Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (commerce clause requires private businesses to comply with the Civil Rights Act)
Lawrence v. Texas (striking down sodomy statute)
Without those and many other decisions interpreting the Constitution, state and federal legislatures would have the unfettered ability to oppress anybody they wanted. Look at what some states have been doing with respect to reproductive rights - only the courts are standing in their way.