“It’s good to be the king!”
--Mel Brooks, The History of the World, Part One
As a rough rule, Supreme Courts (demarcated by their Chief Justices), no matter how many correct decisions they pronounce, typically come up with at least one doozy that contemporaries and/or history rightly condemns. The Taney Court’s Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery; the Waite Court’s Minor v. Happersett decision that denied women the right to vote; the Fuller Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision that “separate but equal” was just fine; the White Court upholding the “right” of children to work 70 hours a week in sweatshops; the Vinson Court’s Korematsu decision blessing internment camps for Japanese-Americans; the Rehnquist Court’s Bush v. Gore travesty, to cite just a few embarrassments. And then there’s the Roberts Court, whose litany of terrible decisions that are adversely affecting Americans’ lives is far too numerous for this piece.
The capstone of Roberts Court disasters may have been its July 1st ruling that put paid to the bedrock democratic principle that “no man is above the law.” Just three days before America celebrates the 248th anniversary of its foundational document, the Declaration of Independence, the central premise of which was to declare absolute monarchy dead in America, the Roberts Court reactionaries essentially declared the Declaration dead.
By sanctifying absolute immunity for Presidents to do whatever the hell they want without fear of criminal prosecution, the Court put a big nail in the coffin of the rule of law. More pegs are certain to follow.
The immediate practical effect of this new candidate for worst Supreme Court decision ever (and that’s saying something even if we restrict the analysis to the Roberts Court) is to give Donald Trump the hall pass of the century. By first agreeing to take this nothing-burger case, then dilly-dallying over scheduling oral argument, putting off announcing a decision until the very end of the Court’s term, and finally by sending it back to Judge Chutkan’s District Court to determine if the prosecution can overcome Trump’s presumptive immunity for what amounted to high treason, the Court’s six extremist Justices threw aside any pretense of judicial analysis in favor of absolute fealty to a felon. Moreover, making Chutkan’s determination appealable means there is no possible chance for the January 6 trial to take place before the November election. This train wreck of a decision reveals that the Court is now firmly embedded in Trump’s pocket. It may as well drape MAGA signs from the Court building, fly its American flag upside down, and put up a plaque announcing that it is “a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican National Committee and the Trump Organization.” What it has done is disgraceful.
This sham decision was designed just for Trump. Being the only President who attempted to overthrow the government, he is the first of 45 who needed this depraved legal interpretation in order to avoid prison. Not one of his predecessors, Richard Nixon included, contemplated such malevolent evil. His second term imminent, Trump now has a guaranteed get-out-of-jail-free card for any of the appalling policies and criminal conduct he is sure to execute (excuse my poor choice of words).
Along with its Friday, June 28 ruling that turned the law regarding obstruction on its head, the Court on Monday effectively approved the January 6, 2021 insurrection. High treason is now just fine in America. Benedict Arnold is smiling along with Donald Trump. This dishonest judicial body has abandoned what little credibility and dignity it had left in the service of a contemptible criminal.
So much, too, for the cherished American ideal of “checks and balances.”
The Court just cut out the heart and soul of democracy and the great American experiment. It will take decades, if ever, for the chaotic mess it has wrought to be cleaned up.
July 1 is a day that will live in infamy.
Bye, bye Miss American Pie.
Dick Hermann
July 3, 2024
--Mel Brooks, The History of the World, Part One
As a rough rule, Supreme Courts (demarcated by their Chief Justices), no matter how many correct decisions they pronounce, typically come up with at least one doozy that contemporaries and/or history rightly condemns. The Taney Court’s Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery; the Waite Court’s Minor v. Happersett decision that denied women the right to vote; the Fuller Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision that “separate but equal” was just fine; the White Court upholding the “right” of children to work 70 hours a week in sweatshops; the Vinson Court’s Korematsu decision blessing internment camps for Japanese-Americans; the Rehnquist Court’s Bush v. Gore travesty, to cite just a few embarrassments. And then there’s the Roberts Court, whose litany of terrible decisions that are adversely affecting Americans’ lives is far too numerous for this piece.
The capstone of Roberts Court disasters may have been its July 1st ruling that put paid to the bedrock democratic principle that “no man is above the law.” Just three days before America celebrates the 248th anniversary of its foundational document, the Declaration of Independence, the central premise of which was to declare absolute monarchy dead in America, the Roberts Court reactionaries essentially declared the Declaration dead.
By sanctifying absolute immunity for Presidents to do whatever the hell they want without fear of criminal prosecution, the Court put a big nail in the coffin of the rule of law. More pegs are certain to follow.
The immediate practical effect of this new candidate for worst Supreme Court decision ever (and that’s saying something even if we restrict the analysis to the Roberts Court) is to give Donald Trump the hall pass of the century. By first agreeing to take this nothing-burger case, then dilly-dallying over scheduling oral argument, putting off announcing a decision until the very end of the Court’s term, and finally by sending it back to Judge Chutkan’s District Court to determine if the prosecution can overcome Trump’s presumptive immunity for what amounted to high treason, the Court’s six extremist Justices threw aside any pretense of judicial analysis in favor of absolute fealty to a felon. Moreover, making Chutkan’s determination appealable means there is no possible chance for the January 6 trial to take place before the November election. This train wreck of a decision reveals that the Court is now firmly embedded in Trump’s pocket. It may as well drape MAGA signs from the Court building, fly its American flag upside down, and put up a plaque announcing that it is “a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican National Committee and the Trump Organization.” What it has done is disgraceful.
This sham decision was designed just for Trump. Being the only President who attempted to overthrow the government, he is the first of 45 who needed this depraved legal interpretation in order to avoid prison. Not one of his predecessors, Richard Nixon included, contemplated such malevolent evil. His second term imminent, Trump now has a guaranteed get-out-of-jail-free card for any of the appalling policies and criminal conduct he is sure to execute (excuse my poor choice of words).
Along with its Friday, June 28 ruling that turned the law regarding obstruction on its head, the Court on Monday effectively approved the January 6, 2021 insurrection. High treason is now just fine in America. Benedict Arnold is smiling along with Donald Trump. This dishonest judicial body has abandoned what little credibility and dignity it had left in the service of a contemptible criminal.
So much, too, for the cherished American ideal of “checks and balances.”
The Court just cut out the heart and soul of democracy and the great American experiment. It will take decades, if ever, for the chaotic mess it has wrought to be cleaned up.
July 1 is a day that will live in infamy.
Bye, bye Miss American Pie.
Dick Hermann
July 3, 2024
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