5-4 De-Supremify the Supreme Court with Niko Bowie and Daphna Renan
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Sep 25, 2026 
Harvard Law professors Niko Bowie and Daphna Renan, scholars of constitutional structure and democratic governance, challenge the Supreme Court’s status as the final word on the Constitution. They revisit resistance to Dred Scott, rethink Brown and Roe, and explore how Congress might reclaim constitutional authority. A provocative conversation about judicial power, federal statutes, and democratic self-government.
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What Judicial Supremacy Actually Means
- Judicial supremacy treats the Supreme Court’s constitutional interpretation as binding on everyone.
- Five justices can override Congress’s understanding of amendments, statutes, and governmental power until the Court reverses itself or the Constitution changes.
Abolitionists Fought Dred Scott Through Congress
- After Dred Scott, abolitionists and Republicans rejected the Court’s pro-slavery ruling instead of treating it as final.
- They organized, won elections, and passed laws expanding birthright citizenship and restricting slavery’s spread.
Democratic Constitutionalism Replaces Court Finality
- Democratic constitutionalism does not let every branch invent its own Constitution; it places a democratically accountable law at the top.
- Federal statutes can be changed by electing a different Congress, unlike entrenched judicial interpretations.
