S3 E56 As the Court Turns Precedence Be Damned

Episode discussion topics

• The Supreme Court of the United States of America is no longer bound by precedence when it so decides.
  
• No reasoning needs to apply, nor any applicable law, a justice may simply rely on their own personal beliefs. The rest of us be damned. And so, as the court turns precedence be damned.
  
• Something more comparable to a lifetime role like that of the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah) in Iran than the stabilizing component it was envisioned to be.
  
• The case for illegitimacy is strong.
  
  • Two seats on the court were essentially stolen by historical precedence in the Senate.
    • A party gerrymandered the seats into their pocket effectively stealing them from the opposition. They violated the rules of the game to win at the risk of the league's legitimacy or the stability of our republic in this case.
    • One appointment was stolen from President Barrack Obama. Namely Merrick Garland, who was nominated but the nominating body, the U.S. Senate, decided not to hold any confirmation hearings. Punting the seat to the next guy.
    • They said they punted because it was too late in the president's term, a fictional rule made up for the moment. The fact is, that it was an abandonment of duty for party-serving reasons.
    • The second steal was a reversal of the prior scenario. Where the same rule violaters confirmed a President Donald Trump nominee when it should have been too late in the executive's term to do so, as in the previous case.
    • They didn't even honor their own rule. They only honor the rules that serve them before all else. "Precedence be damned" may have begun in the Senate in this way.
      
  • Religion is starting to run amok.
    
    • The most extreme and insane religious groups in the United States have an enormously outsized hand on the wheel of our republic these days. Moreso than in the past because our system was born of the enlightenment, based on reason and rule of law.
    • Here is the case MVP mentioned about public funds for religious schools, a case from Maine: Carson v. Makin.
    • One of the last descents from retired Justice Stephen Breyer makes for a good synopsis, "The First Amendment begins by forbidding the government from “mak[ing] [any] law respecting an establishment of religion.” It next forbids them to make any law “prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Court today pays almost no attention to the words in the first Clause while giving almost exclusive attention to the words in the second."
  • The aptly-called shadow docket of the Supreme Court (article by the Brennen Center for Justice).
    • It is both figuratively and literally in a sense shadowy, as covered in the linked article.
    • It is not the hilarious and unreal happenings of something like the "What We Do in the Shadows" streaming series. Rather, quite the opposite.
  • Removing or reserving rights to privacy, a core component of liberty, to a wealthy minority.
    • More religiosity coming our way with the latest affront to precedence that has no basis in reason. The reversal of Rowe v. Wade was insane and based on one of the most selective readings of the Constitution possible.
    • "Originalist" must mean the most original new interpretation a justice can make based on the narrowest text. This is much the same as one might pick and choose from a bible.
    • The Constitution says that we the people have rights regardless of whether or not they are enumerated in the document, see Amendment 9.
• Calls to Action:
  • Implement term limits of something like 18 years, as has been suggested to enable presidents the opportunity to appoint on average at least one in each of their terms.
    • Yes, we would need to pass a Constitutional Amendment.
    • Article 3 of the Constitution states that these judges, “hold their office during good behavior,” which means they have a lifetime appointment.
  • Expand the court to include more voices for the record. Citizens on large experience a huge plurality of life conditions, given the hundreds of millions of us there are. Having more perspectives from honorable people will help make legal precedence reflect the will of the people.
  • In this episode, we proposed, "Setting the bar for impeachment based on a clear code of conduct."
    • However, congress already has the power to impeach and convict even Supreme Court Justices, although that has yet to happen.
    • If citizens elect enough representatives willing to impeach and convict, then the court can be remade.
  • Amend the constitution to make the laws clear so as to not allow the abridgment of any citizen's liberty. Unambiguous laws make it harder for the courts to intervene.
  • Vote early and often! The power to make change rests in our votes and casting them for change makers to represent us in congress and all elected offices.

Your hosts: Michael V. Piscitelli and Raymond Wong Jr.

More info

• Note: MVP misspoke mid-episode about which amendment religion belongs to, that is the first one and not the second.
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