Justice Isn't Blind

One thing that really pisses me off about right-wing extremists in this country is their willingness to listen to (and act upon the words of) irresponsible Republican politicians, who say things that no mature adult should ever say. One such hack is Tom DeLay, who stated last year during the whole Terri Schiavo debacle that federal judges should "answer for their behavior." DeLay later tried to finesse his comments in an apology of sorts, saying that his statement was "inartful." About the same time, we had another Texas politician (anyone see a trend here?), John Cornyn, spout off and insinuate that controversial judicial decisions lead to violence against judges. While he tried to hedge his statement by adding that such violence was "certainly without justification," his comments weren't aimed at condemning violence or admonishing such behavior, but merely providing a rationale-- or in other words, justification.

Words are bad enough-- you may think names may not hurt judges who try all sorts of cases daily-- but now it's coming down to sticks and stones, which definitely hurt. Last year, about this time, a federal judge in Chicago came home to find her husband and mother killed; this same judge had had a contract out on her thanks to a white supremacist she held in contempt of court. While this was happening in Chicago, in Atlanta a judge was killed in the courtroom by a defendant before him on rape charges. Just a month after all this, we have so-called "responsible" politicians like DeLay and Cornyn essentially saying that judges better watch out? It's one thing to disagree with a particular ruling, but to completely politicize attacks on the judiciary to the point that veiled threats are made? If you don't think that likely, look at Ann Coulter's even more irresponsible "joke" in January about poisoning Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. How responsible Republicans and conservatives can ignore her and pretend that there's nothing wrong with such a statement is beyond me. If anything happens to Stevens, Coulter should be held responsible.

Contrary to the old adage, judges aren't blind to what's happening. Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke at Georgetown University last week and warned that attacks on the judiciary threatened the independence of judges and ultimately, could weaken constitutional freedoms that we so far take for granted. O'Connor didn't name them, but she took issue with both DeLay and Cornyn over their "inartful" commentaries on the judiciary.

She's not the only one-- yesterday, Justice Ginsburg revealed that both she and O'Connor have received death threats via the internet. The specific statement was this:

According to Ginsburg, someone in a Web site chat room wrote: "Okay commandoes, here is your first patriotic assignment ... an easy one. Supreme Court Justices Ginsburg and O'Connor have publicly stated that they use (foreign) laws and rulings to decide how to rule on American cases. This is a huge threat to our Republic and Constitutional freedom. ...If you are what you say you are, and NOT armchair patriots, then those two justices will not live another week."

Gee, how much more specific of a threat do you think that could be?

No one is going to agree totally with all the decisions a judge makes-- no one is going to fully agree with everything Congress does, or the Executive Branch does, either. But does that mean that because I don't like Smirk and Scowl that I should rush out, as a "patriot," and assassinate them? Of course not. So why is it okay for some right-winger to get away with saying stuff like that? It shouldn't be. Republicans have been big babies lately about judicial decisions, labeling rulings they don't like the work of "activist judges." While I don't begrudge them the right to dislike a decision, I don't approve of the attacks and politicization that occurs. By creating such labels and making such statements, judges in this country are being told they are no longer respected, and by association, the laws of this country as well. If we no longer respect our laws, then what, really, do we have left?

So while I loathe Scumlia and Uncle Clarence, you won't find me making incendiary statements. Sure, I disagree with just about everything they've done-- while I don't respect them individually, I do respect the office they hold as judges. I respect the laws of this country; if I don't like a law, then I have a responsibility to myself and to the country to register my disapproval through my elected representatives, and if I so wish, to work to overturn or amend such laws. But I, and everyone else, have no right to threaten or undermine a judge or judges. Anyone who does, whether their name is DeLay, or Cornyn, or Coulter, or Smith, or Jones, should be held responsible. Justice may be blind in the courtroom, but it certainly isn't blind when it comes to the safety of judges.