Samuel Alito

One Dark Part Of The Supreme Court Decision On “Obamacare”: Commerce Clause Limited For First Time Since New Deal, Thrilling Libertarians!

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As one analyzes the Supreme Court decision on “ObamaCare” written by Chief Justice John Roberts, in the midst of the celebration, one has to pause and be concerned about Roberts’ assertion that the “commerce clause”, utilized regularly since the New Deal to permit expansion of federal power, was declared limited by a 5-4 vote of Roberts and all four Republican and conservative appointments on the Court—Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito–and vigorously opposed by the four Democratic and liberal appointments—Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. Instead, Roberts said the law was constitutional based on the “mandate” being a tax.

LIbertarians are cheered by this aspect of the case, but it COULD effectively limit federal power, and restore states rights back to the pre 1930s view, which would indeed be tragic in so many ways!

So the battle over the future of government, and over what the Roberts majority opinion means for the long term, will be the subject of much discussion, debate, and cases over the coming years!

Cordiality On The Supreme Court: Does It Exist After The Health Care Decision?

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It has always been said that the members of the Supreme Court are always cordial and friendly, no matter their ideological differences.

But one wonders if that is so, after Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion in the case involving “ObamaCare”, joining the four liberals on the Court.

We know that Antonin Scalia was uncomfortable as the decision was being issued, and was certainly furious and temperamental in his public utterances that Thursday morning!

It is hard to imagine that Scalia, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas are NOT upset over the decision, and that it might very well affect personal relationships. This may not be something easily overcome, particularly when the usual swing vote, that of Justice Anthony Kennedy, was not there to support Roberts.

Roberts may be hoping, privately, that Scalia and Kennedy retire, as they really should soon, with their age being past 80 by the end of the next term.

On the other hand, Roberts and all of us will be burdened for many years by the relative youth of Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito!

This whole situation makes it more urgent than ever that Barack Obama replace retiring Justices, as well as circuit court judges, if there is to be any hope for a fair hearing in Supreme Court cases!

The “compassionate conservatism” of Chief Justice Roberts is far preferable to the narrow minded, biased, uncaring conservatism of Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and YES, even Anthony Kennedy, sorry to say!

What Might Have Been: Chief Justice Samuel Alito!

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In Jully 2005, shortly after Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement, President George W. Bush announced John Roberts as his choice as her replacement on the Supreme Court.

The hearings were scheduled for early September, but two days before the hearings began, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died, and overnight, Bush decided to switch Roberts to be the appointee for Chief Justice, and later selected Samuel Alito to replace O’Connor!

The course of history was changed dramatically by this, ever more so now after Chief Justice Roberts authored the majority opinion on the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare!

Samuel Alito has proved to be a right wing extremist on the Supreme Court, joining with Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, and often called “Scalito” by critics. He also is the Justice who mouthed “not true” after the CItizens United Case decision, when President Obama, in the State of the Union speech a few days later, openly criticized that decision to the faces of the Supreme Court, while the other Justices, including Roberts, sat stone faced, which was the professional way to behave, but not for Alito!

The leader of the Court knows the Court is in his name, and that he must think of history, and Chief Justice Roberts knows that well, and has shown his statesmanship on this health care case, realizing no major decision of the Court since 1937 has repudiated a major social reform law passed by Congress.

Justice Alito is NOT a statesman, far from it, and rather is in many ways a disgrace–a narrow minded, hostile, nasty representative of the agenda of the Far Right, who if he had any ethics, would resign from the Court, but preceded by Scalia and Thomas, the two worst Justices of the past half century on the Court!

A Reminder: The Supreme Court Determines The Future!

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WIth the Supreme Court term about to end on Thursday, and all of the tumult about the upcoming decision on the Affordable Care Act, and the decisions today on immigration, corporate spending in campaigns, and juvenile sentencing for life terms for murder fresh on one’s mind, it is again important to remember what most Americans don’t even know or realize: The Supreme Court determines the future, more than any part of American government!

A lifetime job, with total freedom to say and do what one wants, is a great power, and we are now suffering from the reality that Ronald Reagan may be dead for eight years, but two of his appointments to the Court (Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy) are still dictating much of what happens in America; George H. W. Bush’s appointee, Clarence Thomas, is not going away anytime soon; and George W. Bush’s two appointments, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, will be around for at least two more decades on the Court, assuming good health!

And now with Scalia and Kennedy being 76, and Clinton appointees Ruth Bader Ginsberg being 79 and Stephen Breyer being 73, it is certain that one to four appointments are likely to be made by the winner of the 2012 election.

Can we afford President Romney shaping a Court that will be to the “right of Attila the Hun?”

It would destroy the chance for fairness, equity, humanity on the Court, and would continue the corporate conquest of American government going on with the Citizens United case, and the new Montana case just decided, that reaffirmed that earlier, disgraceful, decision!

It cannot be emphasized enough that NOTHING matters more than the Supreme Court and the federal circuit judges in this upcoming Presidential election! Economic policy and foreign policy are much less significant than constitutional law!

Obama and his supporters NEED to bring up this issue regularly, and never stop referring to it, with the hope that it will penetrate the brains of the American people!

Most Crucial Week In Supreme Court Since Gore V. Bush In 2000 Coming Next Week!

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There is no doubt about it! Next week, the last of the Supreme Court’s present term, will have an impact on America unseen since Gore V. Bush in 2000, which decided that George W. Bush would be our President, instead of Al Gore, who had a 540,000 popular vote lead in the Presidential Election Of 2000.

The week is crucial to both Barack Obama and his Democratic Party, and also to the opposition Republican Party.

It will have a massive impact on millions of Americans who may lose their chance to have health care, and could take away benefits that have already gone into play in the past two years, since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, known to many as “ObamaCare”!

After a century of struggle for health care for all, since the first suggestion under Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, we could see America finally coming to the level of available health care that all advanced industrial nations in Europe, Australia and Canada already have, or else we could go backwards and have a long wait before it can possibly happen again!

It would be a great tragedy if the main purpose of the Obama Presidency is wiped out, or weakened considerably, by the conservative Supreme Court. But this is one of the long range results of the Bush V. Gore case of 2000, rearing its ugly head now, a dozen years later If Al Gore had appointed two Justices to the Supreme Court, they would not have been John Roberts and Samuel Alito!

Also, the Supreme Court will decide if the discriminatory immigration laws of Arizona and Alabama will be allowed to stand, and if it is that result, it will be a major blow to human freedom, liberty, and dignity!

The lives of millions of undocumented immigrants will be put into a situation similar to what African Americans suffered from until the civil rights era started to challenge the prejudice, discrimination, and bias that existed for nearly a century!

Are we about to go backwards on human rights, and victimize immigrant groups, as often we have done in the past of American history?

These two cases are a battle for the future, against the past, and it could be a very tragic week!

One thing is very clear, no matter what the decisions, and that is that the MOST IMPORTANT reason to support Barack Obama and promote a Democratic controlled Congress is the future of the Supreme Court, with four members being ages 73-79, and at least a couple of them likely to be replaced in the next Presidential term.

We cannot afford a President Romney who would move the Supreme Court further to the right, making constitutional challenges on the issues of civil liberties and civil rights, and the power of the corporate world, unable to be resolved in a proper way for the next generation and more!

The Destruction Of Civil Liberties: Anyone Arrested For Any Charge Can Be Strip Searched Multiple Times, By Declaration Of The Right Wing Majority Of Supreme Court!

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An extremely shocking, disastrous decision of the US Supreme Court today will bring the power of the legal system down heavy on ANYONE arrested and detained, no matter how minor the infraction, including traffic violations!

By a straight 5-4 conservative majority of the Supreme Court, a person arrested for failure to pay traffic fines, which he had actually paid, led to six days of detainment in a local jail, and constant, repetitive strip searches that left the person involved feeling a loss of his masculinity, self esteem and self image.

This is not for serious criminals who are accused of murder and rape and robbery alone; it is for ANY charge, no matter how minor, and not only for convicted criminals, but any suspect on any accusation that leads to arrest and detention.

The local police gain unusual powers and control, and what makes it any different than a dictatorship, one may ask?

It is one thing if someone is thought to have contraband on his person, but for everyone for any minor offense or accusation? This is absolutely CRAZY, but nothing can be done about it, and all of us will face the fear that if by chance we are ever detained for ANY reason, we will lose our sense of dignity and self worth!

And realize this includes not only men, but women and CHILDREN as well!

This is insanity, and shows the dangers when the “wrong” President is in office!

This is the result, long term, of the Bush V. Gore case, where the Supreme Court, on a purely partisan basis, gave George W. Bush the Presidency over Al Gore, which led to Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito in 2005 and 2006!

These two men are proving to be hard line conservatives, and now we must wonder if Roberts, who supposedly worries about the image of the Court, will do what is right on the Obama Health Care legislation in June, and prevent a purely partisan decision by 5-4.

But it also makes one wonder about Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee, who sometimes goes against the conservative majority on the Court, and who could have prevented this nightmare decision today, but chose not to do so.

Will he stay with the conservative majority again on the Obama Health Care law? This is crucial, since if he joins the four liberals on the Court, it is seen as likely that Roberts would join that side, but if Kennedy stays with the conservatives, Roberts assuredly will stay with them as well.

These are the consequences of electing a President, and makes the re-election of Barack Obama even more urgent, as otherwise, the Court will become no better than a Fascist Court in spirit, if not in name!

This decision of the Court will damage the reputation of that body, and it is something all of us who care about civil liberties will mourn for a long time!

Just be very careful NEVER to face arrest, as if we can control that!

Chief Justice John Roberts: What He Wants As His Long Term Legacy

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There is much speculation about the US Supreme Court and the most important case in a decade–the Affordable Care Act, known by its critics as “ObamaCare”.

Many think Anthony Kennedy is the key vote, but actually, the author would say that Chief Justice John Roberts is the REAL key vote, and there is much speculation that he will join the liberals and Kennedy, the usual swing vote, and might even convince Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito to join as well, on the power of his personality and the respect he engenders on the Court over the past seven years.

Chief Justice Roberts is going to have long career on the Court, and he wants his legacy to be positive, and IF the Court rules against “ObamaCare”, his reputation will be in tatters, and will be irretrievable.

Roberts is considered one of the brightest members of the Court, and although a conservative, he is not extreme as Clarence Thomas, for instance, is.

Roberts wishes to unite and move forward, and has been stung by the horrible reaction to the Citizens United case of 2010, and to the remnants of the Bush V. Gore case of 2000, the damage done to the reputation of the Court BEFORE he arrived as Chief Justice in 2005.

His questioning showed a mind conflicted, but to believe that he will negate the whole law is hard to imagine, as he set aside three days and six hours for this case, highly unusual, and that is, to many observers, a sign that he recognizes how crucial this issue is in itself, and the seriousness with which he takes it..

While no one can read the mind of anyone, expect Roberts to write the opinion and be in the majority, which is likely 6-3, but could be 7-2 or 8-1.

This case will shape the long term future of the Court, and if the law is overturned, the likely result will be, over time, a single payer system, which any conservative would not want.

And remember it was conservatives who led the charge in the time of Bill Clinton for what is now “RomneyCare” in Massachusetts, and “ObamaCare” in America!

Two Year Anniversary Of Health Care Law, And Oral Arguments On Case Next Week In Supreme Court

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The Affordable Care Act, the Obama Health Care legislation, hits its two year anniversary this week, and next week, the US Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of the legislation, seen as the landmark case of the past decade by many, and as the crucial issue that will have a dramatic effect either way on the upcoming Presidential Election of 2012.

The Obama Health Care law has allowed young people to remain on their parents’ health insurance to age 26; has prevented pre-existing conditions from being used to deny health care; and has cut down the “donut hole” for senior citizens in relation to their prescription costs.

Many other reforms must wait until 2014, assuming that the Supreme Court does not declare the whole act unconstitutional.

There is furious action to try to destroy the signature legislation that really defines the Obama Presidency, a law that took a full year to pass, and that was passed on party lines, which is actually not at all unusual in history.

Some federal judges have upheld the legislation, while others have challenged it, and it will be argued by both sides over three days for the unusually long total period of six hours, showing just how significant this case is!

As it seems now, the four “liberal” Justices–Bill Clinton appointees Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, and Barack Obama appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan—will support the legislation.

For it to survive in one piece, at least one of the five “conservative” Justices would have to join the four liberal appointees of Clinton and Obama.

Anthony Kennedy, usually the swing vote, and usually joining the liberals on about one third of the cases before the Court, is thought to be a good bet, but not a guarantee.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who is very aware of the significance of this case for the Court and for his reputation, is thought to join in the majority, but again no certainty.

Ironically, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who one would think would be opposed, has indicated in other cases as hints that he just might support the legislation.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito is thought less likely to support the legislation, and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas is thought to be the one certain, guaranteed vote against the health care legislation.

The argument for the legislation is the application of the commerce clause of the Constitution, which has been utilized over and over again by the US Supreme Court in the past, adding to the powers of the federal government. This was the same controversy with the Social Security Act, with a conservative oriented Supreme Court in the 1930s, and that legislation was upheld.

The argument against is based on opposition to the so called “mandate” that all citizens MUST obtain health insurance coverage by 2014, or face a fine.

What the critics fail to address is that when someone does not have health insurance and ends up needing medical care, he or she ends up in the emergency room, and all of us have to pay for the health care provided. Is it proper that some have no health care coverage and gain medical aid, and the rest of us have to pay for our health care, and also for those who are irresponsible enough to avoid paying for care that he or she knows he or she can gain for free?

This is the crux of the matter, and it is hoped and believed that a majority of the Supreme Court will end up backing the Health Care law, with a prediction by many of at least 5-4, but even possibly 6-3, or 7-2, or even 8-1.

A victory by more than 5-4 would be a real endorsement of the health care legislation, while a 5-4 defeat would be a major blow to 50 million citizens who benefit from the legislation.

In either case, this decision, when it is announced in June, will have a transformative effect on our nation, and on the Presidential Election of 2012. We will all wait with “baited breath” for the result!

75th Anniversary Of Supreme Court “Packing” Plan Of FDR: Its Significance Today

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Seventy five years ago on this day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced his plan to reorganize the Supreme Court, becoming known as an attempt to “pack” the Court, which became a turning point in many ways, including the fact that it was repudiated by the Senate in July 1937; weakened the power and clout of FDR shortly after his landslide victory in 1936; and led rapidly to a transformation of the Court, and FDR replacing, over the next five years, all but two members of the Court he was challenging.

The Supreme Court had stood in the way of change and progress during the Great Depression, declaring many New Deal laws unconstitutional, and FDR brought the Justices under attack as a result. Bitterly criticized as acting dictatorial, FDR was put on the defensive, but the long range was the Court adapting to an expansive view of the Constitution within a short time, and leading to a Court which dealt with the expansion of federal power and greater support of civil liberties and civil rights.

Today, three quarters of a century later, the Republican dominated Supreme Court has opened up the gates of campaign spending abuse in election campaigns, by its Citizens United decision of 2010. Additionally, crucial cases, including the Obama Health Care Plan, are to be decided by June, which will determine the fate of much of what Barack Obama has done and wishes to do as part of his agenda as President. Obama already made clear his criticism of the direction of the Court two years ago, with the Justices sitting there at the State of the Union Address. And three of the nine Justices–Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito–have boycotted the past two State of the Union Addresses, and represent the major challenge to the Obama Presidency, more than any other members of the Court.

No one is saying or predicting that Obama will attempt such a bold act as FDR did, and were he to do so, it would certainly cause the biggest controversy and split possible to imagine, greater than any issue so far in his administration.

But the Supreme Court IS an issue in the upcoming Presidential campaign, as the likelihood of replacements on the Court in the next term are very likely. This is particularly the case with Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who has had bouts with cancer, and would pass 80 years of age at the beginning of the next term. Her liberal vote would be lost if the Republicans win the White House and she leaves the Court. Additionally, based on aging, it is possible to imagine that Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, and Stephen Breyer could leave the Court before 2017.

So who is elected President, and who controls the majority of the US Senate, which would need to confirm a Court appointment, is very significant, although not much attention is being paid to this issue because of the troubles with the economy.

The Supreme Court: Most Important Issue Of Presidential Campaign Of 2012

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It is amazing how little this Presidential campaign of 2012 has been connected to foreign policy, and to constitutional law, as if ONLY the economy matters.

As much as the Great Recession and its supposed aftermath has created a major crisis for Americans, to overemphasize it is a dangerous action, as the LONG RANGE problem is much more our relations with the world AND the future of our judiciary.

Regarding the judiciary, the thought that a Republican President would select MORE conservatives to a Court already top heavy with conservatives is absolutely terrifying on issues such as the power and influence of corporations, the rights of women, the rights of gays, the role of religion in government, and the struggle to preserve civil rights and civil liberties.

For instance, if Michael Dukakis had been elected in 1988 instead of George H. W. Bush, we would not have had Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.

If John Kerry had been elected President in 2004, instead of George W. Bush, we would not have had John Roberts and Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court.

Going further back, if Walter Mondale had defeated Ronald Reagan in 1984, we would not have had Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, and Justice William Rehnquist would not have become Chief Justice.

So the election of the President has LONG TERM consequences in judicial and constitutional interpretation, just as much as foreign policy is not only short term, but long range affecting.

When one realizes that Ruth Bader Ginsberg is 78, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy are 75, it seems realistic to believe that all three COULD be out of office in the next term of office.

So the Court could become more conservative if a Republican is elected to the Presidency, and more moderate if Barack Obama is elected to a second term in the White House.

Therefore, every voter MUST realize that the Presidential election has consequences, not only in foreign policy long term, but also in the future of our legal system and our constitutional rights.