# 107 The Roberts Supreme Court: "Reactionary", "Revisionist" or "Radical“?
Tuesday 1:00-2:30 p.m.: 3/29, 4/12, 5/3, 5/17, 5/31.
The U.S. Supreme Court has been operating for the last five years under the leadership of Chief Justice Roberts. We will review and discuss the Court's major decisions through 2010 grouped into several different categories, comparing and contrasting them with the predecessor Court under Chief Justice Rehnquist. We will try to ascertain whether the Roberts Court can best be described as "Reactionary", "Revisionist" or "Radical" or whether the Court can be so easily categorized by any such generalized labels.
The following areas will be covered:
Historic background of the Roberts Court and the concept of judicial philosophy;
14th Amendment, including procedural and substantive due process and equal protection (including racial and sexual discrimination and affirmative action);
Bill of Rights and civil liberties (including speech and religious rights, gun possession rights, search and seizure and capital punishment);
Economic regulation, the scope of executive powers and the reach of the federal government,
The use of statistics to characterize a court, the concept of judicial activism; and future trends