By John Johnson II
The Supreme Court was established by the Judiciary Act in 1789 and signed by President George Washington. It was charged with ensuring the American people with the promise of equal justice under law and to function as the Constitution’s guardian and interpreter. This noble idea was conceived by men with flawed morality. President Washington, who was a slave owner, nominated to the court one chief justice and five associates which were confirmed by the U.S. senate. However, in 1869, the court was set at nine.
A brief review of the original six justices may reveal something about the morality of these justices and what role morality plays with today’s selections of justices.
John Jay who was nominated to preside as chief justice was founder of the New York Manumission Society in 1875. Its mission was to abolish slavery, and to help emancipate enslaved persons.
John Rutledge was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. and its second Chief Justice. Also, he. established a fruitful legal career and amassed a fortune as an owner of plantations and slaves.
William Cushing graduated from Harvard College in 1751 and became a member of the bar of Boston. He was later appointed to succeed his father of the Superior Court of Judicature in 1772. In 1780, an emancipated slave sued his former owner for his freedom. In deciding the case as Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Cushing wrote that slavery was unconstitutional and abolished its practice in Massachusetts.
John Blair was a well-known legal scholar, but preferred to avoid the spotlight. However, his brilliance as a lawyer and jurist propelled his career all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Robert H. Harrison agreed to serve as George Washington Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army. He was later nominated for the Supreme Court and confirmed by the Senate. However, because of health and personal reasons he never served.
James Wilson as a lawyer signed the U.S.
Declaration of Independence and contributed towards the framing and drafting of the Constitution of the U. S. He was later confirmed as one of the six original justices of the Supreme Court justices.
During the Court’s inception, two of the original justices exhibited a level of morality that was unthinkable at that time by most Americans.
Unfortunately, the mission of President Trump is to stack the Court with justices possessing extreme conservative views; thus, possibly ensuring over turns of liberal decisions by the Court, such as Roe v. Wade or having an egalitarian interpretation of the powers of the President. Filling the Supreme Court shouldn’t mimic Casino tactics of stacking decks of cards to increase the odds in favor of the “House.” In both scenarios, the people lose.
A President should always strive to establish a Court with justices who will rule with wis-dom and integrity such that our democracy will advance toward a more perfect union for all Americans.
America, the greatest democracy in the world, should be able to find Supreme Court nominees’ without a besmirched character. Or, even worse, what does it say about a government that continues to staff its highest court with individuals of questionable character?
Once again, Trump finds himself in a position of immense power to do harm to America’s democracy. Democrats must convince at least four Republican Senators to join with them and block Senator, McConnel move to confirm Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Should they fail he may not need Putin’s help to ensure his 2020, Presidential election.
Trump’s presidency and the Republicans’ behavior is a living experience of the hypocrisy of America’s democracy, which started with the Founding Fathers. Yes! we get to see history repeats itself. Sadly, it remains a government of, for, and by white men and women for themselves.” Politics is really an emotional, mental, and social contact process, whereby the victors get to collect all the spoils. Clearly, integrity, compromising, past norms and traditions have no relevancy for governing.
Democrats must take a bold and tough stand. In other words, according to the late Senator John Lewis, “Get into good trouble.” They must act, even if it means protesting inside the Capital, conducting sit-ins, risking going to jail, etc. There must be others who are more capable of developing strategies. But also, they must state loudly and clearly the consequences that will follow should Senator Mc-Connell move forward. What would Republicans do if they were in the democrats’ position? Don’t expect Republicans to bring a plea for civility to a self-serving fight for power.
It must be noted that the Supreme Court was and still is a bastion of democracy; there-fore, the Republican party will strive to pack the Court with conservative judges. Thus, they want to be able to ensure that laws and court decisions favor white, evangelical, staunch conservative Republicans. Again, as this charade unfolds, democracy ceases to ensure a more inclusive society. But rather a society where its people, especially Black and Brown will suffer more and
harsher acts of injustice, discrimination, as well as limited opportunities to live free and productive lives.
All civic minded Americans must Wake-up, listen- up, stand-up, voice-up, and vote out Trump and those Republicans who are attempting to make a charade of the Supreme Court nominating process as well as our democracy.
Just maybe, there are some caring human beings, who hap-pen to be Republican Senators, who will stand-up for America’s Democracy.
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