Sarah Isgur — legal commentator, former DOJ spokesperson, and author of Last Branch Standing — joins the Chuck Toddcast for a comprehensive deep dive into the Supreme Court that challenges virtually everything the public thinks it knows about how the institution actually works. Isgur argues that the court's politics don't map neatly onto the current left-right spectrum, and that the court isn't really 6-3 but rather 3-3-3 — with a bloc of doctrinaire conservatives, a liberal minority, and a pragmatic center that includes Kavanaugh and Chief Justice Roberts. She reveals that Elena Kagan plays a major behind-the-scenes role that the public rarely sees, and that over the past 20 years more than 90% of rulings have had a liberal justice in the majority (undermining the narrative of a runaway conservative court) 

The conversation turns to deeper structural concerns about the judiciary that Isgur argues are undermining the rule of law itself. She notes that today's justices all have eerily uniform résumés — a problem created by a system that essentially identifies future Supreme Court candidates by the time they're 18 and forces them to lead incredibly sheltered lives for both career and safety reasons — making them detached from the real world in ways that earlier, more varied courts were not. She is sharply critical of Congress for making the court the arbiter of fundamental rights, which has turned every confirmation into an existential battle — the refusal to take on issues like Roe legislatively forced them to the court, and now there's no real dialogue between the branches. They close by debating a provocative proposal: the confirmation threshold for justices should be raised to 60 or even 75 votes to force presidents to nominate consensus candidates, breaking the cycle of partisan warfare that has made the Federalist Society effectively a prerequisite for any aspiring conservative judge and turned the nomination process into something that is actively bad for both the court and the rule of law.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Sarah Isgur (Last Branch Standing) joins the Chuck ToddCast

01:45 The Supreme Court’s politics don’t map neatly to current left/right

03:00 Bono called Chuck a “radical centrist”

03:45 Brett Kavanaugh’s biggest regret was not getting selfie with Bono

05:30 Songs that best comment on American political culture

08:30 Incrimentalism more important than liberal/conservative

09:30 Kavanaugh & Kagan most similar to Chuck in philosophy

11:00 Kagan plays a major role on the court behind the scenes

12:00 The reputation of the solicitor general has changed under Trump

12:45 Earlier justices didn’t have the uniform resume of the current justices

14:30 Current justices are detached from the real world

15:45 Alito likely retiring this summer or next as Dems senate chances increase

16:45 White House is eager to get a Supreme Court opening

17:30 Trump may have his hands tied, Alito will want to approve successor

19:30 Alito will want someone like him to replace him

20:00 Unlikely Ted Cruz or Mike Lee will be nominated for the court

21:00 We’ve narrowed down who can be justices by the time candidates are 18

21:45 Justices have to lead an incredibly sheltered life for safety

23:45 The court isn’t really 6-3, it’s 3-3-3

25:45 Which justices are the most overtly political for their side?

27:00 Gorsuch had best opinion of the year on Trump’s tariffs

27:45 Congress has abdicated their duty, forced the court to legislate

28:45 There’s no dialogue between congress & court. Court gets final word

30:00 Congress didn’t have the guts to take on Roe, forced it to the court

31:45 Court has become the arbiter of rights, making confirmations existential

33:15 Rights of criminal defendants are compromised by an elected judiciary

34:15 Elections for judges create perverse incentive structures

35:45 Jackson & Kavanaugh share view of their role on the court

36:45 In past 20 years, over 90% of rulings had a liberal in the majority

38:30 Justice Thomas has been remarkably consistent in his rulings

40:30 Gorsuch consistently relies on the text and applies it

41:15 Thomas is a hardcore originalist

43:00 Chief Justice Roberts has eschewed any type of label

45:00 Kagan tries to keep the court out of issues unless they must intervene

46:15 Justices are taking fewer cases and writing more opinions than ever

47:15 The court speaks in too many voices now

49:00 Justice Alito’s favorite movie is “Being There” 

50:15 Breyer was a 2nd backup choice for the court

52:00 The value of moderation vs. abstention

53:45 Should the confirmation threshold for justices be raised to 60 or 75?

56:30 Requirement to join the Federalist Society if you want to be a judge

57:30 Proposal for how to fix the confirmation wars

1:00:00 Current nomination process is bad for the court & rule of law

1:05:00 Court is last branch standing for now, haven’t seen result of 50 vote confirmation