Stephanie Wildman & Michael Tobriner 

Because the next president will appoint federal judges to the Supreme Court

As former lawyers, we understand the long-lasting implications of judicial appointments. The presidential power to appoint federal judges, who serve for life, produces repercussions far beyond any presidential term. As grandparents, we care about future generations, our own family, and all Americans who must live with these consequences.

We need to look no further than recent history to see the impact of such judicial appointments. While critics call Vice President Harris “radical,” the true radicals are the supposedly conservative judges appointed in the last few years by a Republican president. So-called “conservative” groups, like the Federalist Society, have waged a decades-long war to influence appointments to the federal judiciary, including to the US Supreme Court. We have seen the unfortunate results of the success of those efforts. The judges appointed have abolished the right to reproductive freedom, eviscerated voting rights, and insulated presidents from responsibility for their own criminal actions. The impact of these truly radical judges, who implement their own political agenda and disregard precedent and constitutional norms, ripples through the entire federal judiciary.

Judicial appointments by Vice President Harris will be essential to stemming this tide of wrongful jurisprudence that undermines basic democratic values.

Stephanie Wildman is a children’s book author and law professor emerita at Santa Clara Law.

Michael Tobriner is a tutor at 826 Valencia and a Community Boards mediator.