If the United States Supreme Court exists for any moral purpose beyond simply interpreting the laws, it is to carry out the motto etched in stone on the courthouse itself: “Equal Justice Under Law.” That inscription was approved in 1932 by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, and its promise has been a standing challenge to the Court ever since. For most of American history, the greatest obstacle to equal justice under law has been state-sanctioned discrimination on the basis of race. Today, at long last, the Court has said to such discrimination: No more.
