Conservative Legal Scholars Prefer Clinton, Despite SCOTUS Swing

Though Clinton appointees would push the Supreme Court to the left, conservative scholars say they would prefer her presidency to that of Republican challenger Donald Trump. The list of 11 judges Trump said he would consider nominating for the Supreme Court was well-received, but his “mercurial temperament and intellectual ignorance” is not worth the risk, said Richard Epstein, a Hoover Institution Fellow and professor at both NYU School of Law and the University of Chicago Law School. Trump “is wholly unfit,” Epstein added. “The Supreme Court – and judicial appointments more broadly – is probably the single best reason to vote for Trump,” said Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute. “But even then, there’s a lot of uncertainty.” The scholars turning their back on Trump erode one of the most compelling reasons that GOP faithful are sticking to the candidate, despite his many departures from the party’s overall message. Trump himself said in July, “Even if you can’t stand Donald Trump, even if you think I’m the worst, you’re going to vote for me. You know why? Justices of the Supreme Court.” But many are siding with retired Temple University law professor David Post, who said: “The court is important, to be sure – but not nearly that important.”