Hmmmm lets see what makes a good United States Supreme Court Justice? I’m sure there are lots of qualities that we can think of that would go into making an excellent Supreme Court Justice pick. We see a lot of these extraordinary qualities in many federal and state judges all around the country although Supreme Court Justices are generally chosen from the ranks of federal judges or those who have practiced before the Supreme Court.
I think the foremost quality I would look for in a Supreme Court Justice is someone with a razor sharp knowledge of the US Constitution; yep that’s a good start. Another excellent quality would be someone who is a constitutionalist who would strictly interpret the constitution and the laws that are governed by this invaluable document. I also think another excellent quality in a justice would be the ability to be an impartial observer as well as a fair justice who uses the US Constitution as his or hers only guideline for passing judgment.
Unfortunately these qualities are not always evident in justices to those who have an opinion that runs counter to that of a particular jurist. A large part of this problem exists on a purely ideological level considering some of the topics that the SCOTUS has to rule on with ever increasing frequency. Topics like Roe v Wade and the 2nd Amendment just to name a couple of those hot button issues off the top of my head.
Then of course there is the problem that is associated with political party partisanship. This problem inevitably occurs every time there is a Supreme Court Nomination to be made. If the President making the nomination is a Republican he attempts to seat a conservative justice and if he is a Democrat he attempts to seat a liberal justice. The reason for this of course is that he wants the justice he picks to have opinions similar to his own.
Of course with a Supreme Court Justice seat being a lifetime appointment these justices will influence the SCOTUS and its opinions for decades potentially. That is at the heart of what makes these nominations so vehemently contested especially by those whose party does not represent the sitting President. Of course the President and his party try to push their nominees through every bit as hard as those fighting against the nominee.
Some of the biggest battles in seating these nominees are trying to find one who does not believe that the SCOTUS should legislate from the bench because they are the Judicial Branch and not the Legislative Branch of our government. Another big battle and the one that is currently brewing in the nomination process is the battle against racism on the bench.
At this time in our history our current President has had a chance to nominate a replacement for sitting Justice David Souter with another whose judicial views are similar to or maybe even more liberal than Souter’s and this nominees name is Sonia Sotomayor a Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit and the first Hispanic female to ever be nominated although not the first Hispanic nominated.
The current battle against her nomination stems from her statement supporting policy making from the SCOTUS by saying that policy is made all of the time on the appeals level. Another battle being waged against her nomination is because of an apparent racist statement that she made in which she said that a Latina female justice would make better judicial decisions than a white male justice because they would be unable to relate to the regular people who are the ones that the SCOTUS is supposed to protect. As always the battle against judicial activism will be fought on this nomination.
Now I will be honest with you and tell you that I would not support her for the simple reason that I fervently disagree with her notion that government policy is made on any federal judicial bench whether it be in federal circuit court, federal appeals court, or the SCOTUS. No justices are sworn in as legislators they are sworn in as judges or justices. As for the Latina female versus white male statement it may be racism in reverse and is certainly ignorant at the least.
As always I will tell you that it is up to you to do your own research and decide what you believe about this nominee. And as always all I can do is tell you the facts as I know them and my very educated opinion on the topics I write about. I hope all of you do take the time to read the things I write and decide if you like the direction our country is moving in and if it is where you want to go.
I hope you all have a fantastic day and I will see you all again tomorrow CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Obama likes to speak about how interested in protecting the Constitution; however, it doesn't seem like he is in favor of choosing a Supreme Court Justice nominee that will actually protect and uphold that same Constitution.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this should be one of the most important factors when choosing a Supreme Court Justice - but it doesn't seem to be at the top of the list for Obama.
Her comments on legislating form the bench is indeed disturbing. The last thing we need is a Justice in there that has the idea that she can do this. Becoming a Justice of the Supreme Court is serious business and she seems far too flippant about this position and all that it entails.
Sonia Sotomayor is a liberal Presidents wet dream a minority female activist judge on the bench of the Supreme Court. The only thing that would make this pick better for Obama would be if she were lesbian.
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