I don’t want to get into the political scare/delay tactics.  But there are practical problems caused by the Supreme Court fight.  Here’s a good, easy to read essay by Amy Berquist.  She’s a lawyer who clerked in the U.S. Supreme Court.  (Each justice hires a number of law clerks to help them)

http://www.startribune.com/looming-supreme-court-nomination-fight-is-government-shutdown-2-0/369888421/

Ms. Berquist makes a number of good points about the Supreme Court fight:

1.  Without an odd number of justices sitting on the Supreme Court, decisions could be split 4–4.  Meaning no final decisions.  Result: nothing happens.
2. One of the main functions of the Supreme Court is to decide between lower federal courts when they disagree.  Ms. Berquist reminds us that it often takes years to even get through the federal appellate courts.  Without a ninth justice on the SC, there’s going to be further delays.  You may ask, so what?  Don’t forget the reason the cases are in the courts in the first place: real people have serious, expensive, or harmful problems that need to be decided.
3. Even if a new justice is confirmed, it takes months for him/her to get up to speed.  A delay until after the election really means a delay of over a year.  The time the new president can start to consider candidates won’t come until spring of 2017.  This is why the Supreme Court fight and any delays make such a difference to the country.

There’s a great quote by retired justice Sandra Day O’Connor (Appointed by President Reagan):  “We need someone in there to do the job and just get on with it.”

This is the only common sense idea I’ve heard for months!

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Does this really make sense?

In the decision of Roe vs. Wade the Supreme Court “found” rights, not written in the constitution, but hidden in between the lines . . .   Ever since, conservatives went nuts, with understandable reason.  The democrats pushed-back.  Now we always have a stand-off whenever a new justice will be appointed.  With the death of Justice Scalia and an election year, the process will be worse.  Many people fear the selection of a new justice will either support the future of the country or destroy it!!  (We have presidential candidates warning that the future existence of America depends on the correct selection of one man/woman!)

Is this concern blown out of proportion?  What would the ghost of Justice Scalia say?

I could write for pages on this.  Instead, I’ll tell you the story of a former justice and his record.

When Dwight Eisenhower became president in 1952, he owed favors to many people.  The governor of California, Earl Warren, had made the nominating speech for Eisenhower at the Republican convention.  Warren was instrumental in gaining support in the west for Eisenhower.  Warren started his political career as the prosecuting attorney in Oakland, California.  A law and order man if there ever was one.

Eisenhower chose Warren for the supreme court assuming Warren would continue his “law and order” philosophy.   He would rule for the conservatives.  Warren went one to become the biggest champion of criminal defendant’s rights in the 20th century.  He ruled quite often contrary to what conservatives expected of him.  Eisenhower later said that his appointment of Warren was “the worst damn decision I ever made.”

William O. Douglas had been the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission—at the center of big government and big business.  Yet, he became the greatest champion of environmental rights—against the interests of big business quite often—of the 20th century.

Here’s my simple point:  No one can predict what a person appointed to the Supreme Court will do in the future.  All the questioning and political maneuvering could mean nothing.  Instead, let’s pick a person who is qualified by their legal experience—not for their “potential” political ideas.  The ghost of Justice Scalia may even laugh if we dropped all the political posturing in the selection process.

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