Posts Tagged ‘State Supreme Courts’

Don’t Tread On My Turf; Politicians Need To Butt Out of the Courtoom

Friday, October 12th, 2012

The rule of law is the rule of law is the rule of law.

I am repeating this because the message is just not getting through. This country was built on a system which held the rule of law in the highest regard and protected our judicial system.

That is what I learned in 8th grade civics class, anyway.

Whatever issues I might have with our political process and the ways influence can be garnered, with a few exceptions judges have been allowed to focus on the law and nothing else.

Yet again and again the judicial branch is being brought down into the muck, by both politicians and big business, without any hint of shame or contempt. It is seen now as another commodity which can be used to exert power by the brokers who seek to impose their will.

Cases of partisan ideology being brought into legal issues are popping up with alarming frequency. It happened in Illinois, it is happening in Iowa, and now it is the case here in Florida as well.

In this case it is the Republican Party of Florida which is trying to have its way in the courtroom. If it was the Democrats who were meddling, I would be just as opposed.

The RPOF voted to oppose the merit retention of three Florida Supreme Court Justices. Why? Their statement is brief and and extremely vague, and claims there is extensive ‘evidence of judicial activism’, yet cites just one case where these judges voted to set aside a death penalty case.
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Supreme Court Descending Into Political Chaos

Monday, May 21st, 2012

Supreme Court ProtestWhen I was a kid growing up in the Bronx the U.S. Supreme Court always seemed to be above reproach.

Maybe my friends and I were naive, but I think maybe times have really changed. The Supreme Court, once a glaring symbol of constitutional democracy, has now been pulled into the day to day mudslinging of the political process.

To me, as a lawyer that is a true shame. The aura of neutrality around the Supreme Court has evaporated, and now the American public views it through the same partisan-colored glasses as it does the other two branches of government.

A new survey out this month shows the Supreme Court ‘s approval rating at a 25-year-low. The Pew Center for the People and The Press surveyed over 3,000 Americans, and just over half of them (52%) gave the Court a favorable rating. That is down from 58 percent just two years ago, and down from a high of 80% in 1994.

Why? Because the rule of law is no longer the only thing that matters inside the courtroom.

For me it starts with the Court’s ruling on Citizens United vs. FEC. A flurry of Super-PACs and their so-called ‘secret money’ now dominate the national political landscape, because of the 2010 decision that now ratifies their existence and equates corporations with people. If elections are taking an even more negative tone than usual, the court must accept some level of blame.

Some of the language from the recent hearing on health care seemed more appropriate at a Tea Party rally than at our nation’s highest court. Another survey by Bloomberg shows 80 percent of Americans believe that politics, and not the cases’ legal merits, will decide the outcome of Obama’s healthcare legislation.
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