Scalia
The always interesting Supreme Court Justice had some great comments in CA Monday.
The whole article is good but I want to highlight a few points:
I don't know how any rational person can disagree with this. Well, actually I do. The people who disagree with this statement are the ones with unpopular agendas to push. These people cannot persuade their fellow citizens of the merits of their positions democratically. When they can't win the argument, they look for a sympathetic judge. This is why the Supreme Court and Roberts are such huge issues. We as a nation have allowed the Court to settle these big issues for us. Since they are the ones deciding, the bodies in those nine chairs are very important. They are so important that qualified nominees will be blocked on a solely ideological basis. That is the politicizing of the courts. And that is ruining our democratic process.
Here it is in action. Judges, especially Supreme Court Justices, have become political figures and are discussed in political terms. In many cases, that couldn't be farther from the truth. There are times when politics shows through but legal philosophy (strict constructionism, loose originalism, etc.) is usually more important. Does the public understand these philosophies? Do senators help or hurt their constituents by politicizing these nominations?
Sen. Reid was pushing for the President to nominate a senator (John Cornyn, Orin Hatch, Mel Martinez) to the Court. Horrible idea. Right now, there is a huge amount of legal talent in this country. Check out this list. There is no need to troll the Senate for candidates. We need less politics involved in the Court, not more.
The whole article is good but I want to highlight a few points:
"I am questioning the propriety -- indeed, the sanity -- of having a value-laden decision such as this made for the entire society ... by unelected judges," he said.
I don't know how any rational person can disagree with this. Well, actually I do. The people who disagree with this statement are the ones with unpopular agendas to push. These people cannot persuade their fellow citizens of the merits of their positions democratically. When they can't win the argument, they look for a sympathetic judge. This is why the Supreme Court and Roberts are such huge issues. We as a nation have allowed the Court to settle these big issues for us. Since they are the ones deciding, the bodies in those nine chairs are very important. They are so important that qualified nominees will be blocked on a solely ideological basis. That is the politicizing of the courts. And that is ruining our democratic process.
"Now the Senate is looking for moderate judges, mainstream judges. What in the world is a moderate interpretation of a constitutional text? Halfway between what it says and what we'd like it to say?"
Here it is in action. Judges, especially Supreme Court Justices, have become political figures and are discussed in political terms. In many cases, that couldn't be farther from the truth. There are times when politics shows through but legal philosophy (strict constructionism, loose originalism, etc.) is usually more important. Does the public understand these philosophies? Do senators help or hurt their constituents by politicizing these nominations?
Sen. Reid was pushing for the President to nominate a senator (John Cornyn, Orin Hatch, Mel Martinez) to the Court. Horrible idea. Right now, there is a huge amount of legal talent in this country. Check out this list. There is no need to troll the Senate for candidates. We need less politics involved in the Court, not more.
