Political figures are exploiting the slowness of the U.S. justice system, Donald Trump’s attacks on its integrity and divisions in society to defy the law.

Why it matters: As polarization intensifies, it’s placing tribalism above a shared national code of conduct. Increasingly, accountability rests not on the ballot box but with the nine-member, lifetime-appointed and currently conservative-majority Supreme Court…

Speed brakes put into the system by the Founding Fathers often let defiance go unchecked for years.

Today, plaintiffs and defendants weigh the conservative or liberal biases of state and federal courts as they calibrate their moves.