Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Supreme Court Disappointments

My generation -- today’s college students -- has not seen substantial Supreme Court decisions that give us faith in the judiciary. There hasn’t been a Brown v. Board of Education or a Nixon v. United States, when the Court ordered President Nixon to turn over the Watergate tapes.

The court’s Guantanamo ruling appears to be a landmark case that should inspire respect because it rules that prisoners of war should have due process. But this decision seems to be a by-product of fear: the Supreme Court fighting not to lose power to the Bush Administration.

A real landmark decision would have been an order for all prisoners at Guantanamo to have an actual sentence.

Since the 1980’s, the Supreme Court has had a series of rulings that could be designated as “landmarks,” but only for portraying partisan ruling and horrible judgment. In United States v. Morrison, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to make the act of rape a federal crime. Instead, a clearly partisan 5 to 4 rule declared that Congress did not have jurisdiction in the case, and declared PARTS OF the Violence Against Women Act unconstitutional. Too focused on reducing the power of Congress, the Court made no decisions about the incident of rape.

In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress went too far when it passed the 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act. The problem: Congress relied on it’s constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce, but majority of justices said that carrying a gun to school did not constitute economic activity.

A 2005 ruling seems to contradict the gun ruling by saying Congress could rely on its commerce clause powers to regulate drug use even when no commerce or economic activity was involved. This was a loss for two California residents who grew their own marijuana for medical use but were not engaged in commerce, specifically the buying or selling of marijuana.

The founding fathers decided that the justices should have a high salary and a life-long appointment so that they would rise above partisanship and power struggles, and simply interpret the Constitution. A new generation is waiting to see that happen.

Posted by Swati Gauri Sharma at 03:18 PM

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