Justice Elena Kagan warns Supreme Court can forfeit legitimacy when overturning precedent

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on Monday cautioned that courts look political and forfeit legitimacy when they needlessly overturn precedent and decide more than they have to.

Speaking less than three months after a five-justice conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade's constitutional guarantee of abortion access, Kagan said the public's view of the court can be damaged especially when changes in its membership lead to big changes in the law.

She stressed that she was not talking about any particular decision or even a string of rulings with which she disagreed.