I just want to start with a big Welcome to Life for Johnathan. Little (or maybe not so little) guy, you are now part of a large, loving family. You've made a lot of people happy by showing up...and pretty soon, Mom and Dad'll have a whole wardrobe of clothes that fit for you.
And now, for Sage's question of the day:
What type of person would I put on the US Supreme Court?
Hmm.
I'd like to see somebody like, say, James Iredell, or maybe Oliver Ellsworth or Alfred Moore. Those guys, I think, had a better idea of what their job was, than most of the candidates for and members of the High Court these days.
They served right around the turn of the century...the 19th century. In 1800, the Supreme Court moved, along with the rest of the Federal Government, from Philadelphia to the new Capitol, Washington DC. When they got there, they found out they had to share this building with a few other occupants:
This was the north wing of the Capitol, the only one ready at that point, and it was also used by the US House, the US Senate, the Library of Congress, the district courts and several other miscellaneous offices. The justices got to hold court in the basement.
When they were in town.
You see, part of the job in those days involved sitting in circuit courts all over the country. That meant each justice, assigned to his own area, had to travel. Had to deal with cases where they came up, listening to the people involved. And they travelled on their own. Sometimes (oh, the horror) on foot.
A lot more work...a lot lower pay...a lot less pretense, arrogance, and isolation from all things not Beltway. That kind of thing doesn't tend to infiltrate your work when you're trying to keep the mud off your boots on a five mile hike in the rain.
It sure would make a difference, wouldn't it?
Yeah, things are a little different these days, aren't they? Nicer digs for starters:
But what goes on inside that nice building has changed a lot, too. The justices hear only a few select cases each year. They cherry pick them according to the political climate, and they only listen to select, elite lawyers, deemed worthy to practice before their majesties (oops, that should be their honors. Sorry.)
It sure would be nice to have somebody among them who understood that a judge is supposed to INTERPRET EXISTING LAW, not legislate by ruling. That a judge is supposed to even the playing field for citizens under our constitution, not "revisit" our basic rights because it suits some politically powerful group. (That's how the right to life got trashed for unborn babies. Remember?)
What kind of person would I like to see on the High Court? There's a lot of room for diversity there. I don't much care about gender, ethnicity, geography or the other factors that seem so important to the pundits and the politicians.
Just about anybody with a real sense of honesty, integrity, and the actual role of the judiciary would do just fine.
Lots of luck finding somebody like that these days.
Maybe they all need a trip back to the basement.
Blog at ya later,
-Geezerguy
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