The power of one? How much of an impact does a new Justice have on the Supreme Court--and on the everyday lives of most Americans?

• Author: Broder, John M.
• Position: NATIONAL

BACKGROUND

Supreme Court rulings do affect ordinary Americans. Two examples: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) barred racial, segregation in public schools. Grove City College v. Bell (1984) barred gender discrimination in schools accepting federal. funds. What impact might a Justice Alito have on the Supreme Court?

CRITICAL THINKING

* Focus on the central question in the article: whether a single Justice has the power to significantly alter the Supreme Court. Ask students why, if the Justices' job is simply to decide what is or is not in compliance with the Constitution, a Justices personal views could color his or her votes.

* Put the question in a frame of reference for your students, Ask if they and a friend have ever differed over the merits of a President--or even a movie or TV program. Tell them that, in a similar way, people with differing political views may differ on their interpretation of the Constitution.

* Write Personal Dynamics" on the board

* Ask students if they have ever been in a group or club or similar gathering in which one person seemed to have more influence over decision making than others.

* In gauging Alitos potential impact on the Court, what's more important, his judicial philosophy or his ability to sway others?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* Why do you think there is such disagreement between people like Ralph Neas and Richard Friedman on the impact Judge Alito could have on the Supreme Court?

* Why do you think the Supreme Court, as Bruce Fein puts it, generally stays within the bounds of conventional society?

Should Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. be confirmed by the Senate for the Supreme Court seat now held by retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the result would be a "constitutional catastrophe," warns Ralph G. Neas of People for the American Way, a liberal group.

"He is a walking constitutional amendment who would undo precedents that protect fundamental rights and liberties that Americans think are theirs forever," Neas says.

This kind of rhetoric is typical of battles over Supreme Court nominees. It implies that a single new Justice has the power to make radical changes not just in American law, but in the American way of life itself.

As Alito's Senate confirmation hearings get under way this month, it's worth asking whether that's realistic: Could one Justice--Alito or anyone else--make such a huge difference?

With the ultimate say in interpreting the Constitution, the nine Justices of the Supreme Court together...