I agree with this; the Supreme Court has become right-leaning more and more for quite some time. Given the Republicans are so insistent that we must not..."/>

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Activist Supreme Court

POSTED BY: NIKI2
UPDATED: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 11:41
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010 8:36 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


I agree with this; the Supreme Court has become right-leaning more and more for quite some time. Given the Republicans are so insistent that we must not have "activist" judges, it's pretty disingenuous to say that the ones THEIR Presidents have put there haven't been activist for a long time already. The "corporations as people" decision is just the most egregious example of this, but there are far more. The author's hope that Obama appoints justices who will turn it around from being activist isn't one I share; I think the Repubs will do everything in their power to see that a weak justice is all Obama can get, and Obama's willingness to compromise pretty much guarantees that's what we'll get. It sickens me.
Quote:

I chuckled at the acronym K-RATS (Kennedy, Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Scalia) made in Marvin Jacobson's letter on Feb. 19, until I reflected on the senate hearings for Supreme Court Justices Roberts and Alito.

I remember both of them assuring the senators, during their confirmation hearings, that they would not overturn "precedent." At the time, my concern was mainly with their activist opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade. Never did I think long-established precedent on equal pay (Equal Pay Act of 1964) would be one of their first targets, misinterpreting the 180-day statue of limitations, holding that the statute of limitations for presenting an equal-pay lawsuit begins at the date the pay was agreed upon. It took two years for Congress to correct the Court's misinterpretation, the 180-day limitation resets with each new discriminatory paycheck, resulting in the first bill signed by President Obama on January 29, 2009, the Lily Ledbetter Act.

Fast forward from that 2007 wrong Court decision, to January 2010. Roberts and Alito, the avowed will-not-change-precedent "nominees," joined the K-RATS in overturning the decades-old precedent of corporations ban on spending in candidate elections. So now Congress has to spend valuable time, better spent on jobs bills and the economy, to draft and pass a bill to correct the Court's ruling.

This conservative Supreme Court has proven itself to be an activist court, exactly what was feared by the Party-of-No during the Sotomayor hearings. I look forward to the retirement of 73-year old Kennedy and 70-year old Scalia during the current administration, so this corporate court can once again return to the people's court.

http://www.dailycommercial.com/localletters/story/Nancy-Hurlbert---3-1
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"I'm just right. Kinda like the sun rising in the east and the world being round...its not a need its just the way it is." The Delusional "Hero", 3/1/10

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010 11:41 AM

GEEZER

Keep the Shiny side up


Interesting interpretation of "Activist". First, in sticking to the letter of the law relating to the 180 day period for filing claims in Ledbetter. Second, in sticking to the letter of the law rather than allowing unwritten "decades-old precedent" that had no legislation behind it. In Ledbetter, this forced Congress to write a better bill. The same may happen concerning political contributions.

I've always figured one duty of the Supreme Court is to point out sloppy legislation, or places where interpretation and language don't agree, to the Congress by overturning such legislation. The recently mentioned dog-fighting video decision is a good example of this.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

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