US Supreme Court Needs an Overhaul

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The Supreme Court has become nothing more than an extension of the Executive branch of both parties, which may help explain why every US president has always rushed – when a seat becomes vacant – to nominate a Justice who shares his socio-political views of the world.

Otherwise known as the Judiciary Branch, it comprises nine Justices; those gals and guys with long black robes, yep, those. Their primary roles are to interpret the law and apply it to the facts of each case. They have the final words on any dispute regarding any matter with legal ramifications. It would have been nice if there were limit to their power. There is none. Through the process of judicial review, The Supreme Court has the power to annul the laws and rules of the state if it finds them incompatible with higher norm, such as primary legislation, the provisions of the constitution or international law. That’s a lot of power. That’s a lot of problem for the country, considering those gals and guys with long black robes are more inclined to serve the interests of one party or another than performing the duty for which they were chosen.

Our forefathers meant for the Supreme Court Justices to remove themselves from politics. How could they? For the past seven decades, there has been a mutual, albeit silent, understanding between the Presidents and the Justice Nominees, the latter would carry the former’s wishes on the bench. In addition, the “vetting process” (appearing before Congress) is nothing more than partisan charades that serve no purpose other than to re-enforce to the Justice nominees what’s expected of them if approved.

One could simply dismiss those charades as another Washington disenchanting way of governance but there is more to it. The Supreme Court shapes the nation; its primary task is to protect the freedom of speech (for all citizens). The Supreme Court should not be another arm the government uses to carry out its agendas; unfortunately, that’s exactly what it’s been for the past few decades. The Supreme Court Justices have been handing rulings favorable to their respective parties; that’s the reason it came as a “shocking” surprise (to the anti-Obama crowd) when they ruled in favor of Obamacare. In other words, one can easily predict how they would rule based on the majority in the Court. Put otherwise, there is nothing supreme about the Supreme Court. We should all be scared when the very system in place to protect our freedom of expression is up for sale.

What’s even most troubling is the trend that seems to indicate those Justices have also lost the wisdom we’ve come to expect they have; case in point, just last week, the Supreme Court voted 6-2 that Affirmative Action is no longer needed. In other words, it is now constitutionally OK to practice racial discrimination; a company that would discriminate will not face any legal consequence. To be fair, even with Affirmative Action in place, racial discrimination has always been rampant. It is most often subtle, and the Justices must be aware of that. Maybe, the Supreme Court wisdom precedes our understanding of reality. For now, the Justices’ ruling vis-à-vis Affirmative Action seems at best out of touch. There is indeed nothing supreme about the Supreme Court anymore.

I could only guess that the Justices must think racial discrimination is over; everyone is equitably dealt with and treated fairly. The US institutions are all now color agnostic. What in the world give them that idea? Unless they have some divine revelations that surpass the understanding of mankind, the opinions the majority has handed for the past few years have done a lot to cement the idea that there is absolutely nothing supreme about the Supreme Court. Maybe, it’s time to revisit their tenure on the bench.

How would you go about remedying the deterioration of the Supreme Court importance?

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