A good friend of mine, Judge Kevin Burke of the District Court in Minnesota, has written a great blog about the Supreme Court decision on “Obamacare,” better known as the Affordable Care Act.  He emphasizes something different and important from what you’re hearing in the national media.  Check it out at: http://proceduralfairnessblog.org/2012/06/28/the-healthcare-decision-first-reaction/

One of the most worrisome aspects that the blog raises for me is a warning that the fundamental respect for the Supreme Court could be in jeopardy.  Thanks to the leadership of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., I feel better now.  Let me explain…

First, will you hang with me for a quick history lesson?  When Andrew Jackson was president, there was an indigenous Indian tribe in Georgia who had their land “appropriated” by new, white immigrants.  When the Indians used the courts of Georgia to protest, the state courts ruled for the white immigrants.  The Indians appealed to the Supreme Court who reversed the Georgia courts, telling the new settlers to give-back the land to the Indians.  Georgia refused and so Andrew Jackson was called upon to use the military to support the Supreme Court ruling.  He also refused and told the Indians to leave–eventually using the same army to send the Indians west of the Mississippi.  The most interesting point for us in this blog are the words Jackson used about the Supreme Court.  He said: “Let them enforce their ruling if they can.”  Of course, the Supreme Court doesn’t have an army and therefore, couldn’t enforce anything.

I’m concerned with the effort on both the part of liberals and conservatives today to pack the Supreme Court with “their” justices–people who will, hopefully, make decisions that are skewed to a political party’s agenda or even to a particular political position, ie, abortion.

In the short run, that would appear to “save the country” from the “other side’s” crazy agenda.  In the long run, it could be the down-fall of our entire judicial system.  As you’ve seen, the Supreme Court cannot enforce any of their opinions–Jackson was right:  they don’t have an army.  All they have is the respect of the American people that the Supreme Court is an independent body above the sway of politics and therefore, above the political winds.  If the court becomes too political, they will lose the only power they have: persuasion.

If the American public comes to believe that the court rules on issues based only on the political leanings of its members, the Court will eventually not be able to enforce any decision they make.  That will be a disastrous outcome:  America is one of the only countries in the world where the judiciary is independent of the political forces (justices have life time appointments, for instance) and is above politics , making their rulings based on the law, not what is popular politically at the moment.  If they lose this objectivity, the country goes down with them.  Since the ancient Greeks, civilizations have tried to improve democracy.  Maintaining a separate and independent  judiciary is essential to promote democracy and to form a society based on the rule of law.

So, I warn the political activists who try to pack the court with justices they feel are sympathetic to their short-term political agenda: you could ruin the justice system of the United States.  Instead, select justices based on their legal ability and don’t worry what their political thoughts are.