'Judicial' Talk in WDC Ramping Up
by Jody Brown
April 6, 2005
(AgapePress) - In the aftermath of the Terri Schiavo case, and in the anticipation of a political ruckus over the confirmation of federal judicial nominees, the Capitol Hill rhetoric regarding judicial activism is likely to take an upward swing.After months of legal battles, the feeding tube attached to Terri Schiavo in a Florida hospice was removed on March 18 -- by court order. Almost two weeks later (March 31), as predicted by physicians, she died from starvation and dehydration.
Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, says the judges in the Schiavo case acted in a "fair and independent way." At the same time, his fellow conservative and Senate Republican, Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum, says of the case involving the brain-damaged woman, "the actions on the part of the Florida court and the U.S. Supreme Court are unconscionable." And Texas Representative Tom DeLay commented on Tuesday that judges in the Schiavo case have to "answer for their behavior."
With confirmation hearings on President Bush's judicial nominees expected to begin again this week, opinions on the specific actions of Florida Judge George Greer, who ordered removal of Terri's feeding tube, and on the general demeanor of a more-than-apparent activist judiciary are likely to come to the forefront.
For example, notes the Houston Chronicle, both DeLay and fellow Texan Senator John Cornyn are on record as accusing judges of increasingly issuing politically tainted decisions father than strictly adhering to the law. Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, chimes in, saying it is unfortunate that "there are judges who want to be the legislator, the executive, and the interpreter of the laws" -- actions he says puts them outside of their constitutional bounds.
Tony Perkins is president of the Washington, DC-based Family Research Council. He says it is apparent to him that Senate Democrats, who have vowed to continue their filibustering tactics against the president's judicial nominees, want to maintain the status quo in the judicial ranks.
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Tony Perkins |
Perkins says liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way are "gleefully pulling the strings" of prominent Senate Democrats in ongoing efforts to block potential judges who would follow the law instead of creating it."This puppet-show coalition looks to men in black robes to pass their liberal agendas while end-running elected officials and the legislative process," the FRC head says. He cites as an example a recent comment by Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- a former ACLU attorney -- who said it is important for American courts to look to foreign precedent and opinion in their rulings.
"Her comments highlight why judges who look to U.S. laws, and not foreign jurisprudence, are sorely needed," Perkins observes.
Senator Cornyn has recently introduced a resolution (SR 92) that states courts should not look to "foreign judgments, laws, or pronouncements" when interpreting the U.S. Constitution. The senator also recently stated that even federal judges are appointed for life, they are not immune from criticism "when they decide cases in a way that reflects more of an ideological or political agenda."
