Does the U.S. Constitution force us to live under the rule of nine robed lawyers? Many Americans assume that it does. It is commonly said that the Supreme Court has always had the power to decide what the Constitution means and to strike down any act of Congress that violates the justices’ dictates. Even as the Court has used this power to upend democracy―erasing federal laws that once prevented presidential autocracy and protected the right to vote―we are told there is nothing everyday Americans can do, as if our ability to govern ourselves requires the Court to answer our most fundamental questions for us.