USA
Supreme Court
![The Court Decides](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/44f5f558-fb15-4b8c-8704-3d09fe95fc55/53822899936_81b46589e0_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1808%2C0%2C4640%2C4640&w=290)
As the Supreme Court concludes another contentious term, it is once again reshaping the legal landscape. With cases on abortion, gun rights and social media — and potentially democracy itself — on the docket, this year’s rulings couldn’t be more consequential.
![Supreme Court Review](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/7fa00011-6f3c-4016-bdd4-abe2c81807c9/53012197073_fecd0b838b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1296%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
June brings the end of the Supreme Court term and, once again, a historically low number of decisions — but those decisions have a tremendous impact on the lives of Americans. Our stellar panel will unpack the Court’s rulings and explore what they and recent ethics controversies might mean for ongoing debates about the Court’s legitimacy.
![Wicked Problem: Affirmative Action — Who Wins?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/52133bca-9974-475e-a883-546b080e5a76/53007142404_707e91b700_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1808%2C0%2C4640%2C4640&w=290)
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. This year, the Supreme Court is once again considering the constitutionality of race-based affirmative action programs, and its ruling may have a profound impact on the makeup of America’s most selective colleges and universities. How sh...
![Is the Weakest Branch Becoming the Most Dangerous?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2c4bcd9e-e1d4-4192-bfb3-868529352bf5/52186392326_82701b383a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
As Alexander Hamilton famously wrote in the Federalist Papers, the judiciary is the weakest of our three branches of government. Without “purse” or “sword,” the US Supreme Court is dependent on the willingness of others to enforce its orders and on the public’s belief in its impartiality to ensure compliance. Yet in recent years, the increasingly popular sentiment that the...
![The Law that Remade Sports—and the World](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/46b917cb-8db8-4e1f-87df-8499431e553e/52175965606_5723aab1be_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1000%2C0%2C4000%2C4000&w=290)
Olympian Eileen Gu and WNBA Washington Mystics team owner Sheila Johnson know firsthand the power of Title IX, and their careers are testament to why it’s been called one of the world’s most powerful laws. Though its purpose is to make sure that American girls and women can enjoy all the benefits of sport, it has changed the way women compete all around the world — and not...
![Opening Session](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/0fe55411-5bd0-495f-ba1b-0743f41da2d5/52173840525_174816ae2a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
We’ll kick off the Festival with Big Ideas, followed by a dialogue on the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision overruling Roe v. Wade.
![Breaking News Session: The Impact of Roe v. Wade Overturned](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e90a85dc-7547-432e-a724-550d9b47f84d/52170940207_3aab20c98f_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1376%2C0%2C5504%2C5504&w=290)
Today, the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, ending nearly 50 years of the constitutional right to abortion and sending the decision on whether to ban, restrict, or protect abortion back to the states. Public health and legal experts will discuss the implications of this controversial decision including how abortion access will change under sta...
![The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null207511a8-2c1d-42e2-a2aa-a0f758d06ecb/48153957992_06512a3198_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=275%2C0%2C1049%2C1049&w=290)
Is the current chief justice of the United States a conservative activist, or a neutral umpire concerned first and foremost with preserving the institution of the Supreme Court? He may be a bit of both. An acclaimed recent biography, by a journalist who has known and observed Roberts for two decades, contends that Roberts is torn between two, often divergent, priorities: t...
![Our New Supreme Court](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null63da24b9-8325-4048-979a-ddb9c77212a2/48152681642_35bb3b7243_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=293%2C0%2C1014%2C1014&w=290)
This term, the Supreme Court will decide landmark cases involving partisan gerrymandering, the census, abortion, voting rights, and free speech. With Chief Justice John Roberts as the new swing vote, and Justice Brett Kavanagh’s first full year on the court, the justices will signal their views on issues ranging from the future of Roe v. Wade to their willingness to confro...
![Aspen Lecture: Getting to Same-Sex Marriage](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6241e5f7-10ad-4fa6-b74d-bb5ca527eced/27961480141_b54106e7ae_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1224%2C0%2C4912%2C4912&w=290)
Drawing on his forthcoming book Sex and the Constitution, Geoffrey Stone traces the fascinating history of attitudes towards homosexuality, from the ancient Greeks and Romans through early Christianity and the Middle Ages, nineteenth-century America, the post-World War II Lavender Scare, and finally to the emergence of a gay rights movement in the age of Stonewall and AIDS...
![The Supreme Court's Marriage Equality Ruling: The Most Consequential Ruling in Our Lifetimes?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/0f111231-d634-4afa-bfb4-0f04a558a716/19145483698_2a75e621c6_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=671%2C0%2C2158%2C2158&w=290)
Filmed live just days after the Supreme Court granted marriage equality for same-sex couples in the United States, former Solicitor General Ted Olson and star litigator David Boies — the legal dream team that argued the case — join moderator Neal Katyal to illuminate their path to victory. They discuss their immediate reactions to the decision, how they plotted the argumen...