I wonder what she would think of the confirmation hearings and how Republicans acted and how they treated KBJ.
I wonder what she would think of the current Court and how they may undue Roe v. Wade.
I wonder what she would think about Ginni Thomas and January 6.
One of the biggest conservative justices ever. Sometimes people forget what being a conservative justice means. It means not over turning laws even ones you may not like. The activists on the left sometimes create law from the bench and the activists on the right change laws or over turn laws which is still creating law from the bench. In Casey she found the balance of abortion without over turning Roe. 2 other cases showcase her conservativism. I forget the case name but in the mid 80s Michigan passed a law in the midst of the drug wars that said anyone with a half kilo of cocaine could be sentenced to life in prison. It was constitutionally challenged for violations of cruel and unusual punishment. The court decided 5-4 or 6-3 (I forget) in favor of the Michigan law. Sandra wrote the majority opinion stating if the court would over turn this statute it would open the floodgates for every criminal statute in every state. Now THAT is a conservative justice!!! Another opinion that always wowed me from her was when she pointed out to her colleagues that they ruled a sodomy law constitutional because it mentioned homosexuals. 10 years later another state's sodomy law came before the high court and it ruled it unconstitutional because it was between consensual heterosexual couples. Sandra pointed out the court had different rules for different people. She was in the majority this time but went after her colleagues of the mess they created for their earlier opinion. Didn't she also say years later that Bush v Gore was a mistake? It politicized the court? The Florida Supreme court let the recount to continue. Why would federal courts need to over rule that? Looking back, she was a rock solid conservative yet by todays fake conservatives she is not acknowledged for being so rock solid conservative.
ReplyDeletePlease give up the old canard that there are activists on the left who "create law." It's so tired.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the rule on retired Supreme Court Justices? Can't they take some form of senior status that allows them to do some work? I thought I read that somewhere.
ReplyDeleteO'Connor was a Reagan conservative justice, and she proved herself to be a very good pick. It is hard to remember how unusual female judges and even female lawyers were viewed at the time she was nominated. She definitely broke a glass ceiling and opened many doors. Much like Jackie Roosevelt Robinson, she had more scrutiny on her that the normal supreme court nominee and supreme court justice. it took a few years before her opinions were just supreme court opinions and not "the first female supreme court justice's opinion" and in creating that norm, she opened a lot of doors. I am saddened to read of her dementia.
Why are so many lawyers' and Judges' closing acts so tragic?
Yes they often sit by designation on the lower courts.
ReplyDelete"I wonder what she would think of the confirmation hearings and how [Democrats] acted and how they treated [then-Judges Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett]."
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