U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will take the bench for the first time Tuesday. Critics argue he'll overturn Roe v. Wade,suppress women's rights and gay marriage. Legal scholars argue otherwise.
“You have a clear group of people that know right now that the court's authority is on the line, that's why I think it's going to take three or four years until you start seeing some major changes in philosophy,” says T.Gerald Treece,associate dean of advocacy at South Texas College of Law Houston.
“You might see more of a change on the criminal side of the court that doesn't get the attention that cases like Roe v. Wade and affirmative action do.”
But Treece says it all depends which cases the Supreme Court elects to actually hear.
“It's one thing to recognize gay marriage, but it's another thing saying the employer who purchases health care insurance or life insurance,has to do so for a gay couple. That's an issue not yet decide,” he says.
Kavanaugh will first hear an age discrimination case involving two Arizona firefighters.