Aren't You Supposed to Die in the Robe?
One of the basic principles behind the Supreme Court of the US is that anyone appointed to the bench receives the honor as a lifetime appointment. Designed to ensure the independence of the highest Court in the land from the more temporally-minded politicians, this function has been part of the operational policy of the Supreme Court since it was provided for in the Constitution. Surprisingly, the resignation of Sandra Day O'Connor is not that unique in the history of the Court. In fact, including Justice O'Connor, 33 justices have either resigned or retired in the history of the Big Bench out of a total of 110 appointees. One was thrown off the bench by the Senate in 1795 (John Rutledge) after serving one term as Chief Justice due to allegations of mental illness, which were probably politically motivated.
O'Connor's resignation is sure to attract a tremendous amount of attention, due to the fact that her poorly-timed retirement allows the world's luckiest religious fascist, George W. Bush, to name a replacement. With rumors that Chief Justice William Rehnquist will also step down due to his struggles with cancer, this will allow Mr. Bush to equal his two predecessors in the Oval Office in naming two candidates for the Supreme Court. Panic-stricken Democrats would do well to remember that when foreseeing doom on this issue.
What about compulsory service until the end of the justice's life? Two judges who were appointed by Republican presidents (Rehnquist by Richard Nixon, O'Connor by Ronald Reagan) are now passing the baton to another Republican administration (I realize Rehnquist is sick with cancer, but he was sick under Clinton too). Compulsory service until death would eliminate any appearances of collusion between the retiree and the sitting administration. Insanity or senility should be the only reason a Supreme Court Justice leaves the bench, and in the cases of rigorous, well-disciplined minds like these, senility is extremely unlikely.
The Supreme Court is not in that much danger of tipping to the right--it already leaned that way, as proven by Justice Scalia's legislated coup d'etat after the "election" of 2000. The trouble that Bush has had with his execrable UN ambassador pick John Bolton means that he can't expect the Senate to roll over on whatever person he nominates for the bench. He got burned on the Schiavo right-to-die case, and I expect that he'll get burned again if he attempts to pack the Court with right-to-lifers. In combination with his sinking fortunes due to his incompetent management of the "war on terror", he will not risk alienating the American people any further. But who knows? He may plan on his first nominee being rejected in order to sneak someone potentially more threatening to civil liberties and the pro-choice movement.
The most troubling potential outcome to me is that Antonin Scalia will in all probability become the Chief Justice of the Supremes. This arrogant windbag who publicly denigrated American voters by dismissing the importance of their votes in the American election of 2000 will be receiving his plum as obvious payback for the deliverance of the White House to the Bush gang. I'm sure the day Scalia is installed as Chief Justice will feature one of those heartwarming moments where one frighteningly unqualified individual hugs a frighteningly unprincipled one. I never thought I'd ever wish for Bill Rehnquist to stay on, but the known evil is usually better than the unknown, I guess....
O'Connor's resignation is sure to attract a tremendous amount of attention, due to the fact that her poorly-timed retirement allows the world's luckiest religious fascist, George W. Bush, to name a replacement. With rumors that Chief Justice William Rehnquist will also step down due to his struggles with cancer, this will allow Mr. Bush to equal his two predecessors in the Oval Office in naming two candidates for the Supreme Court. Panic-stricken Democrats would do well to remember that when foreseeing doom on this issue.
What about compulsory service until the end of the justice's life? Two judges who were appointed by Republican presidents (Rehnquist by Richard Nixon, O'Connor by Ronald Reagan) are now passing the baton to another Republican administration (I realize Rehnquist is sick with cancer, but he was sick under Clinton too). Compulsory service until death would eliminate any appearances of collusion between the retiree and the sitting administration. Insanity or senility should be the only reason a Supreme Court Justice leaves the bench, and in the cases of rigorous, well-disciplined minds like these, senility is extremely unlikely.
The Supreme Court is not in that much danger of tipping to the right--it already leaned that way, as proven by Justice Scalia's legislated coup d'etat after the "election" of 2000. The trouble that Bush has had with his execrable UN ambassador pick John Bolton means that he can't expect the Senate to roll over on whatever person he nominates for the bench. He got burned on the Schiavo right-to-die case, and I expect that he'll get burned again if he attempts to pack the Court with right-to-lifers. In combination with his sinking fortunes due to his incompetent management of the "war on terror", he will not risk alienating the American people any further. But who knows? He may plan on his first nominee being rejected in order to sneak someone potentially more threatening to civil liberties and the pro-choice movement.
The most troubling potential outcome to me is that Antonin Scalia will in all probability become the Chief Justice of the Supremes. This arrogant windbag who publicly denigrated American voters by dismissing the importance of their votes in the American election of 2000 will be receiving his plum as obvious payback for the deliverance of the White House to the Bush gang. I'm sure the day Scalia is installed as Chief Justice will feature one of those heartwarming moments where one frighteningly unqualified individual hugs a frighteningly unprincipled one. I never thought I'd ever wish for Bill Rehnquist to stay on, but the known evil is usually better than the unknown, I guess....
posted by alyosha mcbain at 12:47 PM
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