Judge Dread

It will be disturbing in the next few weeks to see who Bush attempts to appoint as a replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor. I say disturbing because this battle will be about far more than abortion and homosexual marriage. Oh, those will be the key issues. For now. But O'Connor’s replacement will likely tip the court to the far right for decades. Just think about what key decisions have been made since O’Connor was appointed. And think about all the other things the far right would like to do to this country. Think about civil rights. The environment. The death penalty. The poor. The First Amendment. Unions. The minimum wage. As People for the American Way President Ralph Neas put it recently, "A Scalia-Thomas majority would not only reverse more than seven decades of Supreme Court legal precedents, but could also return us to a situation America faced in the first third of the 20th century, when progressive legislation, like child labor laws, was adopted by Congress and signed by the President, but repeatedly rejected on constitutional grounds by the Supreme Court." Just what’s at stake? Here’s a list of 5-4 decisions in which O'Connor’s swing vote was instrumental: • Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) affirmed the right of state colleges and universities to use affirmative action in their admissions policies to increase educational opportunities for minorities and promote racial diversity on campus. • Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation v. EPA (2004) said the Environmental Protection Agency could step in and take action to reduce air pollution under the Clean Air Act when a state conservation agency fails to act. • Rush Prudential HMO, Inc. v. Moran (2002) upheld state laws giving people the right to a second doctor's opinion if their HMOs tried to deny them treatment. • Hunt v. Cromartie (2001) affirmed the right of state legislators to take race into account to secure minority voting rights in redistricting. • Tennessee v. Lane (2004) upheld the constitutionality of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and required that courtrooms be physically accessible to the disabled. • Hibbs v. Winn (2004) subjected discriminatory and unconstitutional state tax laws to review by the federal judiciary. • Zadvydas v. Davis (2001) told the government it could not indefinitely detain an immigrant who was under final order of removal even if no other country would accept that person. • Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (2001) affirmed that civil rights laws apply to associations regulating interscholastic sports. • Lee v. Weisman (1992) continued the tradition of government neutrality toward religion, finding that government-sponsored prayer is unacceptable at graduations and other public school events. • Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington (2003) maintained a key source of funding for legal assistance for the poor. • Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia (1996) said key anti-discrimination provisions of the Voting Rights Act apply to political conventions that choose party candidates. • Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee (2001) upheld laws that limit political party expenditures that are coordinated with a candidate and seek to evade campaign contribution limits. • McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003) upheld most of the landmark McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, including its ban on political parties' use of unlimited soft money contributions. • McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005) upheld the principle of government neutrality towards religion and ruled unconstitutional Ten Commandments displays in several courthouses. And there’s more. Family and medical leave could be at stake. And, given Bush’s previous attacks on birth control (the regular, non-morning after kind), that could be gone, too.