The
now clearly consolidated conservative U.S.
Supreme Court ended its term in a blaze of
catastrophic, far-reaching decisions. The
three Democratically appointed women were
solid in trying to hold back the right-wing
wave but to no avail. Their attempts to uphold
their judicial responsibility in the face of a
basically male dominated majority were not
enough. We’d better brace for impact.
For
those watching SCOTUS since it dropped a bomb
with the overturn of Roe, it’s been an
aggressive, ideological acceleration to turn
back the hands of time. The idea of using the
constitution to inform fair and inclusive
decisions has become laughable. Like most
issues championed by the Republican Party -
whether it’s in the Congress or the courts -
they favor white, wealthy men and disadvantage
protected classes such as women, people of
color and LGBTQA+. All pretense has
disappeared that the U.S. Supreme Court will
take seriously its basic roles: to keep the
branches of government in check, to recognizes
the limits of its own power, and to protect
the rights and liberties of all citizens.
The corruption of Justices
Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas has been
thoroughly exposed. There are some who believe
the last court decisions many have been
distractions to turn the public’s disdain in
another direction. (Public opinion of the U.S.
Supreme court is the lowest ever.) Others
believe the super majority is moving swiftly on
matters dear to the right-wing’s agenda while
they have the reigns. Both can be true.
The
rulings to strike down affirmative action in
colleges, LGBTQA+ rights and President Biden’s
student loan debt program are omens of what’s
to come. Add to this fact, the court gets to
choose what cases it wants to hear and decide.
We can anticipate a tense judicial atmosphere
as the country heads into the 2024 elections.
It’s time to escalate the
actions for SCOTUS term limits. Justices are
appointed for life unless they retire, resign
or are impeached. It is clear that some
justices are being unduly influenced by
outside forces. It is clear that the super majority will vote along
ideological lines. It is clear that it will
become more difficult to hold the High Court
accountable.
The
Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court
issued a report a couple of years ago that
proposed changes to how the court functions.
One of those changes was term limits for the
justices. Its proposed staggered, 18-year
court has landed in Congress with little
traction.
This
is the most conservative court in 90 years
with rulings that diminish the liberties
guaranteed in a democracy. With no term
limits, justices feel a sense of
invincibility. Without term limits, there is
no fear of retribution.
Term
limits may be unattainable now because of the
imbalance of power by party affiliation. We
the People should be making serious efforts to
show the justices for whom they work. If
justices can be bought by billionaires like
Harlan Crowe, the masses of people will always
be the losers.
