Justice
Justice Souter is retiring. He is relatively young so there is more than likely a health issue involved. I wish him well, and hope he finds happiness in his retirement, whatever that looks like.
Souter was appointed by Bush 41 and was a bit of a disappointment to many of the Republicans. I don't know anything about that. I was 9. My political leanings were of the "is Papa Smurf elected?" variety.
Souter will be the first vacancy that President Obama has the chance to fill. According to NPR (and others) Obama is likely to select a woman as Gingsberg is the lone woman at the moment and he was largely elected by women.
This makes me go "eh." If a woman is the best person for the job, than great. But if there is a man that is more qualified, I would rather have the person most qualified for the job, regardless of their sex. That is what true equality is all about. Selecting a new justice based first on their sex and second on their credentials is the sort of discrimination that women should be railing against.
I only ask of any nominee, that they consider and interpret the Constitution of these United States. That's all. Nothing more. Not the UN Charter, the EU Constitution, or any other nations laws. Just ours. This is not an international court.
The President is likely to have at least one more seat to fill, and possibly three. The face of this most important court will be changed forever by one man who has no check and balance in Congress. Any nominee he appoints will sail through.
Elections have consequences.
Souter was appointed by Bush 41 and was a bit of a disappointment to many of the Republicans. I don't know anything about that. I was 9. My political leanings were of the "is Papa Smurf elected?" variety.
Souter will be the first vacancy that President Obama has the chance to fill. According to NPR (and others) Obama is likely to select a woman as Gingsberg is the lone woman at the moment and he was largely elected by women.
This makes me go "eh." If a woman is the best person for the job, than great. But if there is a man that is more qualified, I would rather have the person most qualified for the job, regardless of their sex. That is what true equality is all about. Selecting a new justice based first on their sex and second on their credentials is the sort of discrimination that women should be railing against.
I only ask of any nominee, that they consider and interpret the Constitution of these United States. That's all. Nothing more. Not the UN Charter, the EU Constitution, or any other nations laws. Just ours. This is not an international court.
The President is likely to have at least one more seat to fill, and possibly three. The face of this most important court will be changed forever by one man who has no check and balance in Congress. Any nominee he appoints will sail through.
Elections have consequences.
Comments
I think at least 50% of the battle I fight as a defense attorney is that most judges have had relatively privileged lives. They don't know what it's like to be poor or live in high crime neighborhoods. And it shows in how they interpret the law.
For example, in one case that a co-worker of mine likes to talk about, a judge looked at her like she was crazy when she suggested that, in some inner city neighborhoods, it's perfectly reasonable to run when the cops show up. That particular judge grew up in a small town, and I can't help but think that a judge who had grown up in a larger city might have understood.
Same thing goes for cases based on sex discrimination. It's easy for a OWG (that's "old white guy") to say that a slight pay or job discrimination is not really that big of a deal. When you've lived it--as Justice Ginsberg did--you get it.
And, even with very well-written laws, judges (and particularly SCOTUS Justices) have an awful lot of discretion. Their views of the world and their experiences are important.
Again, I'm not saying that Obama should pick a woman just because she's a woman. But there are certainly lots of brilliant women in the pool for him to choose from, and I do hope that's the way he chooses to go.