Chief Justice William Rehnquist

Supreme Court Reputation At All Time Low!

The Supreme Court of the United States once was the most highly honored government institution, with a reputation of having the highest ethics, and beyond politics!

However, the Roberts Court, in place now for 18 years since 2005, has lost all credibility, as it has struck out against basic constitutional rights relating to women, race, and sexuality, and has promoted a gun culture; advocated religion (Christianity) over civil rights; and worked to limit voting rights.

The two Bush appointees—Clarence Thomas (George H. W. Bush), and Samuel Alito (George W. Bush) have become the most horrendous, narrow minded Supreme Court Justices of the past century, more so than Antonin Scalia and William Rehnquist, in their negative influence on constitutional law.

Roberts himself, who is so concerned about the negative image of the Court, has been unwilling to promote the concept of ethics reform, despite the clearcut scandals of both Thomas and Alito, but also including himself and even some by other Court members.

So Roberts, the 17th Chief Justice in American history, will not have a great historical reputation in the future, and the Court’s misbehavior will lead to a move to change the future of the Court, including, possibly, future expansion of the Court; or term limits for future Justices; and mandated ethics reforms when and if the Democrats can have solid control of the legislative agenda in some future Congress, hopefully sooner rather than later!

Roberts, himself, has already served as Chief Justice longer than most of that select group of 17, and it would be a good situation if he, with 18 years; Alito with 17 years; and Thomas with 32 years (12th longest of all Supreme Court Justices) were to retire soon, but that is very unlikely to occur anytime soon!

Supreme Court Justice Quality Way Down From Decades In The Past!

Republican Party Presidents since 1953 have selected the vast majority of Supreme Court Justices!

Dwight D. Eisenhower 5
Richard Nixon 4
Gerald Ford 1
Ronald Reagan 4
George H. W. Bush 2
George W. Bush 2
Donald Trump 3
Total 21 with William Rehnquist listed twice under Nixon and Reagan

in 40 years of Republican Presidents

Democratic Party Presidents have had far fewer appointments!

John F. Kennedy 2
Lyndon B. Johnson 2
Jimmy Carter 0
Bill Clinton 2
Barack Obama 2
Joe Biden 1
Total 9

in 32 years of Democratic Presidents

So twice as many Repubican appointments as Democrats!

Eisenhower had Chief Justice Earl Warren, Associate Justice Potter Stewart, and Associate Justice William Brennan stand out!

Nixon had Chief Justice Warren Burger and Associate Justice Harry Blackmun stand out!

Ford had Associate Justice John Paul Stevens stand out!

Reagan had Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy stand out!

H W Bush had Associate Justice David Souter stand out!

On the Democratic side:

Kennedy had Associate Justice Byron White stand out!

Johnson had Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall stand out!

Clinton had Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Associate Justice Stephen Breyer stand out!

Obama had Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Associate Justice Elena Kagan stand out!

Biden had Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stand out!

So 9 Republican appointments and 7 Democratic appointments have stood out!

Now, sadly, we have a group of appointments by Republican Presidents (the two Bushes and Donald Trump) that have been extremist and involved in conflicts of interest, and are not interested in being in the moderate center of constitutional law!

These include Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, and sadly, Chief Justice John Roberts!

The Bush Presidencies Will Be Forever Stained By Thomas And Alito Appointments!

Every President has policies and appointments that historically make him look positive, but they also have policies and appointments that historically make him look negative.

The two Presidents Bush, father and son, will never be forgiven for their horrendous appointments of Clarence Thomas in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush, and Samuel Alito in 2006 by President George W. Bush!

And the appointment of Alito could have been even worse, as if timing had been different, he would have been Chief Justice instead of John Roberts!

Roberts was scheduled to be an Associate Justice nominee to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, but the day before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings began, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died, and George W. Bush, overnight, decided Roberts would be his replacement, and later selected Alito to replace Sandra Day O’Connor.

The thought of a Chief Justice Samuel Alito is horrifying, although Alito has done tremendous damage to the institution of the Supreme Court in his 16 years he has served!

As it is, Chief Justice John Roberts, like Alito, picked by a President who lost the popular vote in 2000, has not distinguished himself, has proved to be a weak leader, and will go down as a failure. His reputation historically will suffer in the long term!

The Supreme Court Reputation Reaching An All Time Low

The US Supreme Court is in a crisis, as its reputation in public opinion polls, and among Supreme Court “watchers”, is reaching an all time low, not matched since the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The Court has never been as right wing in substance as it is now, since a century ago, and even going further back to the late 19th century Gilded Age era.

The Supreme Court’s reputation was glowing in the time of the Warren Court (1953-1969) and even moving forward to the Burger Court (1969-1986), and still having an image of balance in the era of the Rehnquist Court (1986-2005).

This was due to the reality that many Republican appointees to the Court, including the following, avoided hardline conservativism:

Eisenhower–Earl Warren, William Brennan
Nixon–Warren Burger, Harry Blackmun
Ford–John Paul Stevens
Reagan–Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy
HW Bush–David Souter

These eight Justices made a massive difference in enunication of Supreme Court opinions.

Sadly, George H W Bush’s appointment of Clarence Thomas, and George W. Bush’s selection of Samuel Alito, veered the Court far to the right, and Donald Trump’s three appointments—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett—have continued that trend.

The fact that Thomas and Kavanaugh have been connected to accusations of sexual harassment, and that Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett were chosen by Presidents who lost the national popular vote, and that Gorsuch took a seat that was meant for Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, and that Barrett was confirmed for the Court less than two weeks before the national election—only adds to the fury and disgust felt about the Supreme Court!

This has, reportedly, disturbed Chief Justice John Roberts (2005- ), whose historical reputation is being damaged, as he has moved, personally, from being conservative to attempts to create a moderate balance on the Court. Sadly, it is not working, so there are some rumors that he might retire from the Court after 17 years as its leader, as that is about the norm for most of the 17 Chief Justices in Amerian history, with the exception of John Marshall (1801-1835) and his successor, Roger Taney (1836-1864).

That would be a major step forward, to retire, and allow Joe Biden to pick a Chief Justice, which has not happened for a Democratic President since Harry Truman in 1946!

The Donald Trump Impeachment Trial Begins As House Appoints Impeachment Managers, And Hands Over The Two Articles Of Impeachment To The Senate

Finally, a month after the House of Representatives adopted two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has appointed seven members of the House to be impeachment managers, and has handed over the two articles of impeachment to the Senate.

More evidence against Donald Trump has emerged, and hopefully, the Republicans in the US Senate will realize the need for new evidence to be allowed, and for witnesses to be brought before the Senate, as Chief Justice John Roberts presides, over what is now the third Presidential impeachment trial in American history.

John Roberts joins Salmon P. Chase in 1868 and William Rehnquist in 1999 in the historic stewardship over the impeachment proceedings, with the President on trial, although not in person, and with the House having impeachment managers to argue the case, and the Senate to act as a jury. All branches of the government are present in the Senate chamber as this trial commences, and lasts a few weeks, likely beyond the Iowa Caucuses on February 3 and the New Hampshire Primary on February 11.

The Moment Of Reckoning For The Reputation Of Chief Justice John Roberts And His Court

The time has come for the Supreme Court and Chief Justice John Roberts and their reputations.

Will the Court rule that Donald Trump’s tax returns shall be made public, which will indicate the depth of corruption, Russian Collusion, and reality of just how wealthy Trump is? This is a group of cases which might take months to be decided, but will have the potential to repudiate Trump.

Also, Chief Justice Roberts will preside over the Donald Trump impeachment trial, and while not directly involved in the final vote, Roberts will have an impact with his rulings on procedure.

Roberts is the third Chief Justice to preside over a Presidential impeachment trial, after Salmon P. Chase over the Andrew Johnson Trial in 1868, and William Rehnquist over the Bill Clinton trial in 1999.

Roberts’ reputation is at stake in the long run of history, not only for these issues mentioned here, but for the reality that he has become, effectively, the swing vote on many cases, since Justice Anthony Kennedy left the Court 18 months ago.

It’s Official: Donald Trump Becomes 4th President To Have House Judiciary Committee Adopt Articles Of Impeachment

It is now official!

President Donald Trump has had two articles of impeachment adopted by the House Judiciary Committee, making him the 4th President to face such a situation!

Andrew Johnson in 1868; Richard Nixon in 1974; and Bill Clinton in 1998 preceded him.

Andrew Johnson was acquitted in 1868; Bill Clinton in 1999; and Richard Nixon resigned before the entire House of Representatives could vote to impeach him, which was a certainty, and therefore the US Senate did not conduct an impeachment trial in his case.

The impeachment trial will take place in January, with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding, as previously, Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase in 1868; and Chief Justice William Rehnquist did in 1999.