With the precarious ideological balance in the Supreme Court, the next president may very well decide the fate of major issues such as abortion, gay rights and gun-control laws in the event of a court vacancy.

With three judges high on the age-ladder, a seat or two may open up in the very near future.

Should Gore prevail, he would certainly seize the opportunity to appoint another liberal justice along the lines of his favorite model, the late Thurgood Marshall.

But Bush has praised the decisions of Court justice is Antonin Scalia, the arch-conservative who has professed a strict Constitutional interpretation.

Bush's words seem to indicate he would appoint another conservative to the bench, which opponents fear could lead to a reversal of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion case. Other cases which the court might consider would address divisive issues from affirmative action programs to gay rights to school prayer.

Beyond the major issues, however, the actual role of the court would vary significantly under either Bush or Gore.

"Bush is a strict constructionalist who favors a limited role for courts in general," said Robert Porter '02, chair of the Harvard Students for Bush. "Gore, on the other hand, advocates judicial activism and stresses the importance of the court's involvement."

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