College of Law Professor Howard Wasserman speaks at Supreme Court Review conference
College of Law Professor Howard Wasserman spoke at the 2026 Supreme Court Review: Key Decisions, Executive Power, Civil Discourse, sponsored by the National Constitution Center and the Center on the Structural Constitution at Texas A&M University School of Law. The event was broadcast on C-Span.
Wasserman teaches civil procedure, evidence, federal courts, civil rights, and First Amendment; he writes about the freedom of speech, the role of procedure and jurisdiction in public-law and civil-rights litigation.
At the recent conference, he spoke on the panel Civil Discourse and the Supreme Court. Panelists included Jonathan Adler (William & Mary School of Law), Catherine Mims Crocker (Cornell Law School), Greg Garre (former Solicitor General of the United States and partner at Latham & Watkins). Julie Silverbrook of the National Constitution Center moderated the discussion.
The panel focused on the loss of civil discourse between the Justices and in the broader political and academic discussion about the Court. Professor Wasserman made four key points: 1) the discourse within the Court has arguably not changed over the years; 2) pointed discourse tends to focus on whether the Court is adhering to consistent procedure; 3) the fairly consistent 6-3 divide in politically salient cases has created “dissent fatigue,” in which the same justices are dissenting in major cases; and 4) criticisms that question the Court’s legitimacy are not an inappropriate form of discourse.