News Archive

The dissent in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization indicated the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “undermines the Court’s legitimacy.” IU McKinney Professor Gerard Magliocca told Indiana Lawyer for a news story the majority ruling in Dobbs reflects the deep divide in the country over the subject of abortion.

“At some points in our history, there’s a higher degree of consensus about what the Constitution should be and what the court should do. And if the court does it, people are generally happy,” Professor Magliocca said in the story. “We’re not in one of those times. … There’s bound to be a lot of division over what the court does.”

The ruling, both the majority and the dissent, used a lot of legal jargon that may not be familiar to nonlawyers, Professor Magliocca also said in the story. He suggested that perhaps more plain language should have been utilized in an opinion sure to generate such wide interest.

“They knew this was something that would have an impact on people’s views of the court as legitimate,” he said in the story. “Well, you should try to make some effort to talk in a way that is more comprehensible.”

Professor Magliocca is a Samuel R. Rosen Professor of Law at IU McKinney and a nationally known expert in constitutional law. He is the author of five books, the latest of which, Washington’s Heir: The Life of Bushrod Washington, was published by Oxford University Press in early 2022. He also is the author of over 20 articles on constitutional law and intellectual property.