When I was young, I wasn’t very aware of judges and the role they play in our society. I knew they sentenced criminals and not much else. Then when the civil rights movement began to get a lot of news coverage, I started to pay more attention, but still didn’t think about how and why legal rulings were so important in how society was changing.

I always believed judges, especially on the United States Supreme Court, were smart and fair in weighing enacted legislation against the wording and meaning of the Constitution. In my naiveness I didn’t think they might be partisan in any way. Then when the election of President George W. Bush was decided by a majority of the Supreme Court justices, I began to wonder about their impartiality. When Al Gore conceded the election even though he had received a majority of the country’s votes, I guess the court’s role then became a non-issue.

In the last year of the Obama presidency, Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away leaving a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Senator Mitch McConnell saw the chance to fill that seat with someone he felt more sympathetic to Republican causes and refused to hold hearings on President Obama’s choice, saying it was too close to the next election as the reason for his decision. Since he was the majority leader, he had the power to set the rules in the Senate so President Obama’s choice was ignored.

Interestingly, McConnell forgot all about this when the same situation occurred at the end of the Trump presidency and McConnell and Trump’s choice for the court was confirmed by the Senate shortly before the next election.

Returning to Donald Trump’s Presidency, and him having the support of the United States Senate and senator Mitch McConnell, stacking the Supreme Court and federal judgeships with more conservative-leaning judges became possible. Two other Supreme Court vacancies occurred earlier in Trump’s term, and filling those became highly politically polarizing. The Senate hearings ended with our now Supreme Court having a majority of six judges deemed to be conservative and the other three labeled liberal.

So, does this effect the court’s rulings?

What I read and hear about the judge’s differences seems to be how they interpret the words of the Constitution. In a simplistic view, the more conservative judges believe the Constitution is written in stone and has a very narrow meaning. It should rest on the society and the world as the Founding Fathers saw it, and should not change over time except by the difficult process of amendment. The liberal faction on the court believes it is a living document that has to evolve with the changes in society, science, medicine, technology, and the world around us, and their decisions or dissent are based on this. Throughout this country’s history, arguments over these differences have been with us from the beginning and the court’s makeup has changed many times depending on which side gets to fill open seats.

I guess there are many differences in how we all want to live our lives, including persons who are appointed or elected to interpret, administer, and validate laws that are enacted by our legislators, government officials, and regulatory agencies.

Should we be free to live our lives as we choose regardless of how that affects others? Should we allow the destruction of the environment in the name of personal freedom? Is it okay to discriminate against others because of differences in color, religion, or social status? Is it the right of one group to decide what we can read, see, or listen to? Should a national religion be established? Should we have some kind of gun control or simply get used to senseless killings? Should our educational system be limited to reading, writing, and arithmetic or do we have the right to a liberal and unencumbered education? Do women have the right to make their own decisions for their healthcare? Should we have an autocratic or dictatorial government rather that a Democratic Republic?

These are just a few of the monumental issues that judges have been facing since this country was established and our Constitution was written. I believe their decisions are more important now than in any time in our history. I hope they can work very hard to set aside their personal beliefs and make decisions that are best for the country as a whole and the rest of the world. That should go a long way in restoring the legitimacy of the courts in public opinion. I hope that is not pie in the sky thinking.

Ken Kaiyala
1-6-24