And beyond that, there's a more fundamental issue: people like this are chosen for these roles because of their fervent, polarized political beliefs. Their principles, if they have any, are either aligned with or overcome by the politics. Their willingness to listen to reason and step outside their bubble is limited, unless doing so lines up with their politics.

> Are Supreme Court justices swayed by the political environment that surrounds them? Most people think "yes," and they point to the influence of the general public and the other branches of government on the Court. It is not that simple, however.

> As the eminent law and politics scholars Neal Devins and Lawrence Baum show in The Company They Keep, justices today are reacting far more to subtle social forces in their own elite legal world than to pressure from the other branches of government or mass public opinion. In particular, the authors draw from social psychology research to show why Justices are apt to follow the lead of the elite social networks that they are a part of.

I certainly hope current SCOTUS justices have a solid grasp of history and what happened to the last SCOTUS justice who acted in a manner you're suggesting. And this is an institution that (also, as history would have it) does a pretty good job giving a wide berth to precedent.