In this episode, legal scholars Jonathan Adler, Greg Garre, Katherine Mims Crocker, and Howard Wasserman discuss the state of civil discourse inside the Supreme Court and in public debate about the Court. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. This conversation was recorded live in Philadelphia on July 7, 2026, as part of the National Constitution Center’s 2026 Supreme Court Review, which is presented in partnership with the Center on the Structural Constitution at Texas A&M University School of Law. The program featured three panels with scholars of differing perspectives examining the Court’s 2025–2026 term, its approach to executive power, and civil discourse surrounding the Court.
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This episode was produced and mixed by Bill Pollock. It was recorded by David Stotz and Greg Schekler. With production support from Charles Sahm. Research was provided by Anna Salvatore, Trey Sullivan, and Tristan Worsham.
Participants
Jonathan Adler is the Cabell Research Professor and Tazewell Taylor Professor of Law at William & Mary Law School. He is the author or editor of seven books, including Business and the Roberts Court. Adler is a regular contributor to the legal blog The Volokh Conspiracy, and often appears on popular television and radio programs to discuss constitutional and regulatory issues.
Gregory Garre is a partner at Latham & Watkins. He has served as the 44th Solicitor General of the United States (2008–2009), the Principal Deputy Solicitor General (2005–2008), and as an Assistant to the Solicitor General (2000–2004); the only person to have held all of those positions within the Office of the Solicitor General. Garre has argued 51 cases before the Supreme Court and has briefed and served as counsel of record in hundreds of additional cases before the Court at both the merits and certiorari stage.
Katherine Mims Crocker is professor of law at Cornell Law School. Previously, she taught at the Texas A&M University School of Law and William & Mary Law School, and served as the inaugural faculty director of the Texas A&M Center on the Structural Constitution. Before entering academia, Crocker clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Howard Wasserman is professor of law and associate dean for research and faculty development at Florida International University Law School, where he teaches civil procedure, evidence, federal courts, civil rights, and First Amendment. He blogs at PrawfsBlawg, is the section editor for the Courts Law Section of JOTWELL, and is a contributor at SCOTUSblog.
Julie Silverbrook is chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, where she leads the strategy, development, and delivery of the Center’s content, public programs, and educational initiatives, advancing its mission of nonpartisan constitutional education and civil dialogue. She oversees the creation of public-facing constitutional content and works to ensure the Center’s programs, scholarly engagement, and educational resources operate as a coordinated national strategy serving students, educators, families, and lifelong learners across the country.
Additional Resources
- 2026 Supreme Court Review: Key Decisions, Executive Power, Civil Discourse, National Constitution Center
- “Retired Justice Kennedy laments coarse discourse of Trump era and its effects on the Supreme Court,” Associated Press, Oct. 8, 2025
- “Justice Thomas Bemoans Incivility as Security Prompts Cancellation of In-Person Speech,” The New York Times, Feb. 27, 2026
- “Justices Hint at Strains as Supreme Court Comes Under Scrutiny,” The New York Times, May 18, 2026
- “Takeaways From Rare Congressional Testimony by Two Supreme Court Justices,” The New York Times, July 15, 2026
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