In this article, we study how the Supreme Court of Argentina (2003-2023) and the Constitutional Court of Colombia (2002-2023) responded to periods of increasing political polarization. In each country, for each presidency, we describe the political context of the polarization, the composition of the courts, and how the courts ruled on significant cases for the executives during moments of high polarization. The evidence indicates that both courts did not align permanently or automatically with any political faction. We suggest that the mechanisms for selecting judges and the distribution of power in Congress have prevented a single force from controlling the high courts and have led to the absence of internal ideological polarization within these courts.
