America's Courts

This BusinessWeek article makes me worry about the decline of American society -- more so than the re-election of Bush -- at least with Bush, we know he's going to last only another four years. The American courts however, elect judges, especially judges to the Supreme Court, for lifetime positions -- but the process of putting a judge in the courts is more and more becoming a political event -- and politics is eroding the institution. Judges are supposed to be fair, unbiased and uphold the ideals of the law, regardless of their personal opinions. That objectivity is now being jeopardized as judges run for their positions. In the Supreme Court, it's much worse -- there, the party in power appoint judges to their lifetime positions, and more and more, they've been making partisan appointments. At stake are some of the principles that America holds dear -- some of the very foundations of their free and just society. Bush will have the opportunity to place as many as four new judges in the supreme court -- judges that could change previous rulings on such topics as, abortion, affirmative action, and the death penalty.