When the Supreme Court ruled unanimously last week that there is no constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide, it marked the eleventh time this term the high court has reversed Ninth Circuit judge Stephen Reinhardt (subject of a May 5 profile in THE WEEKLY STANDARD by Matthew Rees, “Judge Reinhardt, the Overturned”). And though the current cast of Supreme Court justices is deeply divided ideologically, this was the ninth time out of the 11 reversals that the justices ruled unanimously contra Reinhardt.
What does it mean to be overturned by the Supreme Court 11 times in one year? There’s no modern precedent for a judge having so many of his opinions reversed in one Supreme Court term. Being reversed is roughly like being given a speeding ticket. It’s embarrassing if it happens once. Eleven times, and you should lose your license.
