Faith In The Courts -

Faith In The Courts - DJ Tice at the Pioneer Press has an excellent article on what partisan furor over court decisions means for faith in the legal system:

Many pundits have concluded, casually and comfortably, that the initial ruling from a reputedly liberal panel of the circuit court represented some sort of retaliation for Bush v. Gore. The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne, for example, wrote a column terming the ruling "revenge for an act of judicial activism" (that is, for Bush v. Gore). He added, "even if the three 9th Circuit judges are overturned, they have already made their point."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times perceived "irony blazing" as the circuit lobbed the Supreme Court's own arguments back at it. She quoted a political consultant saying, "It was beyond delicious … that the Supreme Court be hoisted on its own petard."

What an image of jurisprudence. Do federal appeals court judges really make decisions in order to wreak political vengeance on other courts? Do they issue rulings interfering in elections merely to make a point?

These are shocking suggestions, or anyhow they should be shocking.

Then, he calls for a dispassionate review of Bush v. Gore. Which is, of course, where the problems always kick in.

Worth a read.

Posted by Mitch at October 14, 2003 07:06 AM