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| The United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC © RozenskiP / shutterstock.com |
The United States has globally projected itself as the leader of democracy, but a close look at the country refutes that notion. American democracy, especially with the US Supreme Court, requires genuine reforms before it can legitimately call itself representative of a democratic institution.
The US
judicial system is a disgrace to justice. Judicial positions are filled based
on loyalty and inclination towards certain issues, parties and fraternities,
rather than objective factors such as professional qualifications, a sense of
justice and ethical considerations. Although the judges are obliged to be
impartial adjudicators, above any political considerations, they often vote
along party lines, and their decisions are referred to as “conservative” and
“liberal.”
Like members
of Congress, federal judges are divided. According
to the National Constitution Center, the Supreme Court’s nine justices are
presently six Republicans and three Democrats. Americans overwhelmingly
disapprove of such partisanship. A 2022 Pew Research survey
found that 84% of American adults overwhelmingly hold that the Supreme Court
justices “should not bring their own political views into how they decide
cases.”
Furthermore,
the judiciary is filled with incompetent individuals who favor the rich as the
poor and minorities remain their victims. It was not surprising when the
infamous 2010 ruling
in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission enabled corporate
entities, wealthy institutions and individuals to donate unlimited money to
elections. Consequently, politicians, especially presidents, have become the
puppets of the rich in their struggle to finance their campaigns. Not only
this, but some of them have become puppets of foreign states. The contributions
of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to political campaigns
in support of Israel and stopping those who think America first are well known.
AIPAC has
also opposed any attempt by the US to negotiate with Iran, and continuously
pushes for sanctions and hostilities against that nation. In reaction, Iran has
finally put de-dollarization in motion globally. Thanks to AIPAC. So begins the
fall of US hegemony worldwide.
Americans are
looking at a stark future. The Supreme Court’s decisions are often tyrannical
and devoid of moral values. Its extreme-right majority is now poised to roll
back many “long-standing rights and laws.”
What
do you really know about the US Supreme Court?
As for the US
Constitution,
Article III, Section 1 establishes that the US judicial power is vested in “one
supreme Court” and that judges hold their office on “good Behaviour.” Going
back to the precedent set by George Washington in nominating John Jay as the
first Chief Justice, “good Behaviour” has meant that Justices must be patriots
and high caliber jurists, known for integrity and impartiality.
While there
is no mention of “checks and balances” in the Constitution, the principle is
implicit in many of its provisions. Federal judges are appointed by the
President, but the Senate must approve them. The Supreme Court may declare
presidential actions or Congressional legislation illegal, but Congress can
override them by changing the law or even proposing to amend the Constitution.
The House of Representatives, furthermore, impeach executive officers and
federal judges, including the President and Supreme Court justices.
In 1803
Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court established
its authority to void actions of the executive and legislative branches found
“repugnant to the constitution.” Over time, the Supreme Court has miserably
evaded its responsibility to do so and keep those branches in check. The
Congress has frequently delegated more and more of its constitutional power to
the President, and the Supreme Court has not objected but colluded with the
Congress, enabling “legislative
distortion.” In doing so, the Supreme Court and the Congress have
undermined the constitutional ideal of a balance of power.
The framers
of the US Constitution created it in order to “establish Justice.” The 14th Amendment
clearly states that no State can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.” However, the US has never lived up to its
commitment. The bigotry peaked in the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford when the
Supreme Court excluded “enslaved
people” from US citizenship.
As for the “equal
justice under law,” the recent arrest and arraignment of the former President
Donald Trump shows how that has been turned upside down. Unlike
others, Trump was treated with respect, including escort through a private
corridor and not being handcuffed or subjected to a mugshot.
Like
Congress, the Supreme Court has also given in to the expansion of presidential
power. The President issues executive orders at will, “instant laws” passed
without Congressional approval. The Supreme Court could overturn them but has
chosen to do nothing. In other words, the court has practically become a
politically rubber-stamp for the other two branches.
The reason is
clear. Presidential nominations, especially those for the Supreme Court, have
become increasingly political. Presidents have been appointing party loyalists
to such positions. In 1991, George H.W. Bush nominated the infamous Clarence
Thomas to the Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed his nomination, despite
attorney Anita Hill’s extensive testimony of Thomas’s sexual misconduct. Now,
Thomas is in hot water for violating
the court’s own judicial ethics. Trump sparked outrage when he nominated Brett
Kavanaugh, who was accused of attempted rape, but Brett was also confirmed.
The Supreme
Court has become incorrigibly corrupt. The justices have used their judicial
positions to enhance their private interests. While on the Supreme Court,
Justice Louis Brandeis promoted Zionism and advised President Franklin D.
Roosevelt on Zionism-related issues. Meanwhile, for decades up to the
present-day, Justice Clarence Thomas has been taking vacations paid for by a
billionaire.
A
culture of injustice
The Supreme
Court’s corruption and incompetence have taken their toll. The US suffers from
endemic male chauvinism, racism, nepotism, and deceit. It continues to have the
world’s highest criminal incarceration rate, including a disproportionate
number of Black and Native Americans, whom police likewise disproportionately
abuse and murder. The US has the world’s most mass
shootings, about 5 times that of Russia, which comes second to the US. The
shooters are 74%
white, nicely treated by police, and seldom die unless they commit suicide.
Black, Latino and Asian shooters rarely live to see the next day. Harassment
and abuse of Hispanics, migrant workers and asylum seekers by authorities have
become common affairs. Women, as well, are still treated unequally.
Although
females constitute the majority in the US, they continue to be discriminated
against. Female prisoners in the US are sexually harassed with impunity.
Violence against women and girls remains widespread and alarming. Gun violence
remains high across the country, and their biggest victims are women. Assaults
on Native American women and girls continue to be substantially more frequent
compared to assaults on other US women. As for wages, the “gender pay
gap” persists, with women making 17% less than men doing the same jobs.
Judicial
incompetence has put the US on the path of revolution. It has frustrated and
polarized Americans, with many of them living in anger. Over 32% of the wealth
is possessed by the wealthiest
1%. Over 11% of Americans live below the poverty
level and 60%
“live paycheck-to-paycheck.” It was in this environment that Trump could
manipulate the oppressed into the January 6 insurrection.
Nevertheless,
the Supreme Court is not representative of democracy. Its judges are not
elected by the people but nominated by the President
and confirmed by the Senate,
neither of which is representative of democracy, considering the US population.
The court’s
degenerated status was summed up by a former judge. On March 11, 2020 in a
letter to the US Chief Justice John Roberts, former Hawaii State Judge James
Dannenberg resigned from the Supreme Court Bar. Addressing Roberts, he wrote,
“You are allowing the Court to become an ‘errand boy’ for an administration
that has little respect for the rule of law.” He noted that the Supreme Court
was moving towards limiting freedom in favor of “wealthy, Republican, White,
straight, Christian, and armed males—and the corporations they control.” He
ended his letter by saying, “I no longer have respect for you or your majority,
and I have little hope for change. I can’t vote you out of office because you
have life tenure, but I can withdraw whatever insignificant support my Bar membership
might seem to provide.”
Time
for the US to Reform
The Supreme Court is riddled with
corruption and incompetence. This is not sustainable in the long run, as we saw
in the 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol building. At the very least, two
steps must be taken:
1.
The justices must take an oath of allegiance to carry
out impartial justice, not to serve Democrat or Republican, liberal or
conservative, white or non-white sectors.
2.
The court must develop an “ethics code” to provide the
judges with sensible standards for conducting themselves.
If the US doesn’t get its own house in order soon, another insurrection is inevitable.
BY MEHDI ALAVI
This article was originally published in Fair Observer on June 26, 2023.
