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108 Iowa L. Rev. Online 1 (2022-2023)

handle is hein.journals/iowalrb14 and id is 1 raw text is: Legacy and Accountability Ian Ayres* ABSTRACT: This Essay considers the ways that the law can help or hinder the accountability of actors and institutions. It draws two implications from the failure of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to retire at a time that would have better secured the constitutional right to abortion. First, it suggests ways- including information escrows-that the law could better dissuade individuals from taking actions that might tarnish and counterbalance the good they've done earlier in their lives. Second, it provides new empirical support for regular Presidential appointment reforms as a way to make the United States Supreme Court more democratically accountable. IN TRO DU CTIO N ........................................................................................ 1 I. TAINTED LEGACIES ............................................................................... 4 II. CAN THE LAW HELP IMPROVE DECISION-MAKING?................................. 8 III. PERSONAL VS. DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY ................................... 15 C O N CLU SIO N .......................................................................................... 19 INTRODUCTION Part of me wished that Chief Justice John Roberts had voted with the majority to overrule Roe v. Wade.1 While I support the constitutional right to choose, if the right is restricted, having it fall by a 6-3 vote would have helped preserve Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy. Justice Roberts' willingness to uphold substantial parts of Roe makes it clearer that Ginsburg's choice not to retire when a pro-choice president held office was a but-for cause of the Court eliminating this foundational constitutional right. * Oscar M. Ruebhausen Professor, Yale Law School. Eni Iljazi and Jacqueline Huang provide excellent assistance. I thank Sai Prakash and Richard Re for helpful comments. 1. See Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), overruled by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022). I drafted and submitted this Essay before Dobbs was decided and originally said, Part of me hopes that Chief Justice John Roberts votes with the majority to overrule Roe v. Wade.

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