Roe ruling shows complex relationship between court, public

By HANNAH FINGERHUT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruling to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision is unpopular with a majority of Americans — but did that matter? The short answer: it’s complicated. The relationship between the two has been studied and debated by legal and political scholars. There’s evidence that the public has an indirect role in the judiciary, but that might be changing. And researchers acknowledge a relationship between the two, but it’s probably not a direct link. Scholars point to judicial appointments and court legitimacy as potential ways that the public has indirect influence over the court, but recent political trends may be undermining that influence.