The U.S. Judiciary & Democratic Backsliding: The Role of Courts in Illiberal Governments

Please join the Center for American Progress for an event that will focus on the connection between courts and authoritarian movements at home and around the world. History shows that when the courts fall, liberal democracy is soon to follow, and with the Supreme Court’s recent anti-democratic turn, now is the appropriate time to have this important conversation.

The event will feature a presentation by CAP Senior Fellow Michael Podhorzer on the impacts of judicial rulings on American democracy. The first panel, “Autocratic Capture of the Judiciary,” will feature leading legal scholars addressing the current role of U.S. courts in advancing domestic anti-democratic movements and backsliding democracy. The second panel, “Global Perspectives on Courts and Autocratic Governments,” will include historians and experts on the global rise of authoritarianism discussing parallels to the fall of democracy around the world and the actions of the current Supreme Court.


Keynote Remarks
Keynote speaker to be announced.

Presentation on the Impacts of Judicial Rulings on American Democracy
CAP Senior Fellow Michael Podhorzer will present on the impacts of judicial rulings on American democracy.


Autocratic Capture of the Judiciary
Featuring leading legal scholars, this panel will address the current role of U.S. courts in advancing domestic antidemocratic movements and backsliding democracy.

Panelists

Aziz Huq
Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law
The University of Chicago Law School


Cristina Rodríguez
Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law

Yale Law School


Mark Tushnet
William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Emeritus
Harvard Law School

Moderator
Moderator to be announced.
Center For American Progress