IS THE SUPREME COURT POLITICAL?

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Last week Chief Justice John Roberts said that the Supreme Court is not political. His words caught my attention. On Tuesday evening the Chief Justice gave a speech to a group and stated the same sentiment again.

The two recent decisions : The Affordable Care Act seems to make his point. There was a 6 vote for, 2 vote against, and one stated the complainants did not have standing.

Th other Supreme Court Decision was on religious grounds. A religious Adoption agency turned down a gay couple based on the religious beliefs of the Org. The Court ruled for the religious organization and against the gay couple.

Justice Roberts stated the Court is unbiased, and I would say that maybe these decisions show that.


Do you think the Supreme Court is unbiased.??

Annette

 

[elizat]

There are a ton of good research articles out there on this and voting ranking for all of the justices. Some are paid articles though. I think the idea of a conservative v liberal judge is a bit overblown. I say that as someone that is a lawyer. Yes, everyone has ideologies and views, but if you look at it statistically, the idea that an appointment by a certain party v the other guarantees a result is not supported. I don't want to say too much and get the thread shut down, but there are excellent data plots that track the voting and leanings online that folks can look at and review.

ETA: much of what gets lost in this is philosophy- orginalism/textualism and different philosophies. It's not as easy as looking at an issue and looking at the appointing party. There are surprising decisions and much comes down to judicial philosophy. I don't think that is necessarily political though.

 

[Demon]

Hi,

Last week Chief Justice John Roberts said that the Supreme Court is not political. His words caught my attention. On Tuesday evening the Chief Justice gave a speech to a group and stated the same sentiment again.

The two recent decisions : The Affordable Care Act seems to make his point. There was a 6 vote for, 2 vote against, and one stated the complainants did not have standing.

Th other Supreme Court Decision was on religious grounds. A religious Adoption agency turned down a gay couple based on the religious beliefs of the Org. The Court ruled for the religious organization and against the gay couple.

Justice Roberts stated the Court is unbiased, and I would say that maybe these decisions show that.


Do you think the Supreme Court is unbiased.??

Annette

I don't think too much can be read into the ACA case. The suit wasn't dismissed on the merits, just on the standing. We'll have to wait and see if another case comes up. Personally, I think Roberts, at least, just wants to leave it. I think some - Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, possibly even Gorsuch and Barret would like it gone. I don't think the court is unbiased.

 

[kenny]

Yes, amap

Hi,

Last week Chief Justice John Roberts said that the Supreme Court is not political.

Yeah, and fish probably don't notice water they swim in.

 

[missy]

Ideologically speaking they are supposed to be independent of (and insulted from) political pressure. However we do not live in an ideal world and practically speaking no, I do not believe they are free of politics in their decisions. Politics always has been part of the process. IMO.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

When i was younger I think i revered the Supreme Court. I did not think it was political. I thought they based their opinions on the Constitution. When Elizat responded she spoke of philosophies and I had to think about that. I think I understand. It is an outlook on what the Constitution means ,whether states right vs Federal Jurisdiction and basically what did the framers intend..

The Justices through the years have shown a particular leaning on a wider interpretation of the Constitution or a narrower interpretation. I doubt they can always be consistent We can see how they lean by looking at when they were judges in the lower courts or their writings. But it is not a fair comparison to when they become Supreme Court Justices. Their job is different. I think they are interested in conforming to the Constitution as best as they can.

Our times have cast them in a very political light. I think we cannot expect no bias, but its the philosophies that rule. At least I hope so. I don't revere them as I used to, but thats life.

Annette

 

[Ella]

Folks I've removed a few posts that were political--naming conservatives, liberals, etc. Please keep this thread neutral and philosophical if you wish it to remain. Do not ascribe certain political parties or judgements on particular judges.