Tarrant County

What Does Supreme Court Look Like If Clinton is President?

The Supreme Court can have an influence on everything from a woman's right to choose, to choosing which bathroom to use.

Hillary Clinton has given some indication where she'd lean to pick future Supreme Court appointees.

"They are trying to hold on to power on the Supreme Court," said Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Deborah Peoples. "The court recently has made rulings like same-sex marriage, you know, things that are really geared towards helping the people."

Upcoming issues before the Court include transgender rights. Last week justices agreed to hear a case out of Virginia about whether the Obama Administration can require public schools to let transgender students use the bathrooms that match their gender identity.

"Really, it's about people just trying to live their lives," said Cece Cox, C.E.O of the Resource Center in Dallas, which advocates for LGBT issues. "So this case will be asking questions which ultimately would mean people cannot be discriminated against when using the bathroom. Transgender people have been using regular bathrooms for years and years, and suddenly it's become a political hot potato."

Other issues the Supreme Court will likely hear include 2nd Amendment cases about assault rifles. Clinton supports reinstating the assault weapons ban her husband signed. Campaign finance could come up, too. Clinton has said she would appoint judges who will overturn Citizens United, a Supreme Court case that allowed special interest groups to sink hundreds of millions of dollars into elections. 

The Supreme Court cannot set policy, but it can set the tone. 

"There's a platform that gets created," Cox explained. "So everyone is talking about these cases, everyone is offering an opinion, and there's a great opportunity to learn."

Contact Us