The most liberal US Supreme Court possible

The first POD happens after the death of Chief Justice Harlan Stone in 1946. President Truman was inclined to name Secretary of the Treasury Fred Vinson, then he changed his mind. He decided to keep his friend in the cabinet and get rid of Attorney General Tom Clark. In 1949 following the death Justice Frank Murphy Truman appointed Appeals Court Judge and former Senate colleague Sherman Minton. When Justice Wiley Rutledge died that same year Truman named Appeals Court Judge Peter Woodbury. At the end of the 1953 term. the Court handed down it s decision in the Brown vs Board of Education case. The decision banned school desecration but the multiple opinions invited future litigation. In 1955, full filing a campaign promise President Eisenhower replaced the late Justice Robert Jackson with Solicitor General and former California Governor and Vice Presidential Candidate Earl Warren, In January 1956,Warren wrote a desegregation opinion that won unanimous approval. He calmed fears of the impact of the Supreme Court decision by giving school districts a flexible deadline of all deliberate speed. In 1956, Justice Sherman Minton resigned due to health reasons. President Eisenhower as an election year gesture appointed Democratic New Jersey Supreme Court Justice William Brennen. Brennen would also be the first Catholic on the court in seven years. In 1957, Justice Stanley Reed retired and was replaced by John Marshall Harlan. In 1958, Justice Harold Burton left and Charles Whittaker took his place. In 1961, Mapp vs Ohio, the first of the notable Clark victories for criminal defendants, declared that all American courts must use the Exclusionary Rule and disallow illegal obtained evidence. Chief Justice Clark, Justices Black, Douglas, Woodbury, Warren, Brennen,approved the decision. Justices Frankfurter, Harlan and Whittaker dissented. Later that year Justice Earl Warren would retire and be replaced by Assistant Attorney General Byron White. Warren was bored by his work as an Associate Justice, but after learning about President Eisenhower’s negative reaction to Brown vs Board of Education, he did not want to let Eisenhower another to name a justice. In 1962 the court handed down Baker vs Carr, which mandated that legislative districts be equal in population. Chef Justice Clark. Justices Black, Douglas, Woodbury, Brennen and White, voted for the decision. Justices Frankfurter and Harlan dissented. That same year, Engele vs Vitale banned school sponsored prayers. Chief Justice Clark, Justices Black, Douglas, Woodbury, Brennen, and Harlan approved the decision. That year Justice Whittaker would retire and be replaced by Solicitor General Archibald Cox. Justice Frankfurter would also leave and Labor Secretary Arthur Goldberg would take his place. In 1963, a unanimous court approved Gideon vs Wainright which required all defendants who could not afford a lawyer be provided with a public defender. In 1965’s Griswold vs Connecticut, only Justice Black dissented when the Court overruled bans on birth control and outlined a constitutional Right of Privacy. Later that year Justice Woodbury would retire and be replaced by attorney Abe Fortas. Also in 1965, Justice Goldberg would resign to become UN Ambassador and Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall would take his place and become the the first African American supreme court justice. In 1966, with only Justice Harlan dissenting, the court in Miranda vs Arizona, requited all suspects in custody be informed of their right to remain silent and to have an attorney. In 1967, A unanimous court would approve Loving vs Virginia, which overruled laws banning inter racial marriage. Later that year Chief Justice clark would retire and be replaced by Associate Justice Fortas. Appeals court judge Homer Thornberry would take the place of Fortas, In 1969, Chief Justice Fortas would resign after it was revealed that he took money from the foundation of Louis Wolfson, a convicted felon. In 1971, Justices Black and Harlan would retire, Appeals Court Judge Potter Stewart would take Harlan’s place, President Nixon nominated Appeals Court G. Harold Carswell to replace Black but the Senate rejected him. Nixon next nominated Appeals Court Judge Clemont Haynesworth and he too was rejected by the Senate. Attorney Lewis Powell turned down Nixon’s offer to serve on the court. Finally Nixon was able to win the approval of Appeals Court Judge Harry Blackmun. In 1973, Blackmun wrote the Row vs Wade decision which established a right to have an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. Only Justice White would dissent in that case. In 1975, Justice Douglas would retire and be replaced by Appeals Court Judge John Paul Stevens. In 1978 the Bakke vs University of California allowed using quotas to implement affirmative action. Only Chief Justice Burger and Justices Stewart and Stevens would dissent. The controversial reaction to the case would inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1981 that would outlaw quotas but allow race to be used as a factor. Later in 1978, Justice Thornberry would retire and be replaced by the first women justice Shirley Hoffsteder, In 1985, Appeals Court Judge Antonin Scalia would join the court following the death of Justice Stewart. In 1986, Bowers vs Hardwick would strike down all Sodomy Laws. Only Chief Justice Burger and Justice White would dissent. That same year, Chief Justice Burger would retire. In a contentious vote the Senate would narrowly approve Appeals Court Judge Robert Bork to replace him. In 1990,Justice Brennen would leave the court and be replaced by Appeals Court Judge David Souter. Following the death of Justice Marshall in 1993, Appeals Court Judge Harry Edwards came to the court. Later that year, Appeals Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg would replace Justice White and Interior Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbit would take the place of Justice Cox. in 1994, Justice Blackmun would leave the court and be replaced by Appeals Court Judge Stephen Breyer. The 2000 case of Boy Scout vs Dale required the Boy Scouts to follow a law that forbid discrimination against homosexuals. Only Chief Justice Bork and Justice Scalia dissented. The decision inspired anger amongst social conservatives. Republican presidential candidate George W Bush used the Supreme Court as an issue. The increased turnout amongst social conservatives is credited with giving Bush his lead in the popular vote and his winning margin in Florida, Wisconsin, Iowa, New Mexico and Oregon which helped give Bush his 301 to 237 victory in the Electoral College. Bush would go on to become the first president who did not name a Supreme Court justice since Andrew Johnson. He did not alter the liberal bent of the court that was shown in 2008’s District of Columbia vs Heller that denied a that the Second Amendment establishes an individual’s right to own a gun, Chief Justice Bork and Justice Scalia were the only ones who did not approve the decision. In 2009, Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomeyer, became the first Hispanic justice when she replaced the late Justice Scalia. Justice Scalia’s death brought the first change in court personal in fifteen years, the longest period of stability in court history. Later that year there were two retirements. Justice Souter was replaced by Solicitor General Elena Kagan. Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears took the place of Justice Edwards. In 2010 Citizen’s United vs FEC preserved the federal regulations on political expenditures by corporations and unions. Only Chief Justice Bork dissented. Later in 2010, Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood replaced Justice Souter and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm took the place of Justice Hoffstedder. At the beginning of the Fall 2010, the court for the first time had a female majority. In 2012’s National Federation of Business vs Sebllus, the court upheld the Individual Mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Chief Justice Bork was the only justice not support that decision. Later that year, Chief Justice Bork died and was replaced by Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland.The Garland Court stood out because of all the unanimous decisions on major issues. Such as the 2013 decisions Shelby County vs Holder which upheld the Voting Rights Act and US vs Windsor which overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, 2014’s Burwell vs Hobby Lobby which denied a religious freedom exemption from the contraception mandate and 2015’s Obergefell vs Hodges which legalized gay marriage.