Ross Judson has a very perceptive opinion on our judicial system:
Does it bother anyone else besides me that the most important judicial decisions of our time are being decided on party lines? If anybody wants to know why the judicial nomination process is so critical, there’s your answer.
I don’t know enough about the legal arguments involved to really come down on one side or the other, but I am disturbed by the fact that three supposedly learned justices can’t seem to come to some kind of agreement on what the constitution actually says, or how it applied in this case. Are these issues so complex that no unified response is possible?
Why the hell do we make juries reach a unanimous verdict? Maybe we should start forcing the judiciary to reach unanimous verdicts. I’m tired of all of this “dissenting opinion” crap. It sends the thinking public the crystal clear message that at the highest levels of our judicial system, all that matters is politics.
The incredible polarization of our society at every level is frightening. There is no place left in our system of government or our societal institutions that isn’t left/right. What’s even more scary about this is that once you are aligned with one of the sides, you tend to go along with that group no matter what happens – witness the willingness of the right wing to follow Bush wherever he goes, despite the fact that he is violating the very tenets of conservative thought – fiscal irresponsibility, bigger government, policing the world, and extreme government interference in our lives. Time for people – and judges – to start thinking for themselves instead of toeing the party line.
