New justice must not bow to partisan politics

We should all be hoping for a swing voter. Realistically,
that’s the best we can get when it comes to replacing
retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

According to exit polls conducted by the Daily Bruin during the
November 2004 presidential elections, over 80 percent of more than
750 members of the UCLA community polled said they voted for Sen.
John Kerry.

So it’s probably safe to say the UCLA community will not
be too excited about the conservative nominations President Bush
will be sending to Congress for approval in the coming weeks.

It would be naive to assume Bush’s appointee would have
political leanings that differ too much from Bush himself,
especially because he has clearly stated he would like to see the
appointment of a justice similar to Antonin Scalia and Clarence
Thomas, two of the court’s most politically conservative
members.

During her years on the Supreme Court, O’Connor was often
the swing vote on the bench ““ it was her vote that decided
the ruling in many cases when the court was split.

Replacing her with a strict conservative will create a 5-4
conservative majority, making it likely that most cases will be
decided strictly down ideological lines and turning what should be
the most autonomous branch of the federal government into yet
another arena for partisan politics.

O’Connor’s swing vote was an example of a justice
taking the role of the Supreme Court, the highest judicial
authority in the country and the interpreter of the Constitution,
seriously.

Though she was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, once on the
bench O’Connor didn’t vote strictly according to her
ideology, much to the disappointment of conservatives.

In light of controversial issues, such as abortion and gay
rights, that the court will likely make rulings on in the years to
come, it is critical to have a court made up of judges who will
rule based on constitutionality and not compromise their position
by legislating from the bench.

The court needs justices who will follow the constitution, not
just their personal and political beliefs. It needs justices who
will vote according to the freedoms granted to the American people
by their founding fathers ““ not in favor of issues close to
their hearts or the issues of their party.

The new justice will sit on the court for life and have a say in
cases that will determine the social and political climate we will
be living in for decades to come.

What concerns many is that O’Connor’s replacement
might not be the only appointment to the court that Bush will make
in his term.

Chief Justice Rehnquist is expected to retire before Bush leaves
office in 2009, and probably much sooner, and others may retire as
well.

Regardless of who is appointed to the court in the coming weeks
and what political leanings that person possesses, the appointment
is only the beginning. At that point, the chosen justice is on his
or her own.

Here’s hoping they all make the right decisions.