American Thoughts on the Supreme Court By Christopher Neiger, 02.09.06
Ask the average American to list five Supreme Court cases most likely the list will include, Roe v. Wade, Marbury v. Madison, Dred Scott v. Sanford, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Brown v. Board of Education.
Although many Americans may not be able to compile a complete list of important decisions made by Supreme Court most have opinions about the Courts power and its effectiveness on personal life
Peter Gustafson, 37, said that the role of the Supreme Court has changed from what it was originally intended.
“Originally the laws passed by Congress were not outside the bounds set by the Constitution,” he said. “Now they’ve evolved to the final authority on anything and everything. If the Supreme Court says it’s alright it must be right.”
Gustafson is referring to the 1803 decision by the Supreme Court in which the court gave themselves the power to decide what is Constitutional or unconstitutional. It was after this decision in Marbury v. Madison that the Supreme Court had the final say on what the Constitution says.
Gustafson said the most significant Supreme Court decision was Roe v. Wade. He argues that the Court overstepped its power concerning the issue.
“They’ve basically created law out of nothing. Saying that there is a right to privacy and that right to privacy means you can abort your children,” Gustafson said.
Jon Bailey, a native Hawaiian who spent 20 years in the Army, said that the Supreme Court has overused its power and gotten involved too much in the state’s business. He mentioned how teachers in American schools can’t say things like “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Chanukah” without being afraid. But when he served overseas, the countries provided federal funding to the schools and teachers had no problem telling a student “Merry Christmas” as long as the student said it first.
“Over here teachers have to watch their P’s and Q’s,” Bailey said. “And it’s not so much the federal government that did that, I think it’s the fear of organizations that use the federal government to get that decision that now puts pressure on people.”
He said outside organizations push the Court to rule one way or the other. “It’s pressuring the Supreme Court to make particular decisions.”
The Court’s alleged abuse of power is simply a matter of context though. Of course certain people will believe that the Court has misused its power when it rules in favor of something that many people don’t agree with. When it comes to equalizing our nation’s checks and balances, Karen Groen, a 25-year-old law clerk in the United States Court of Federal Claims said the system needs to be improved.
“I would say that their power to put a check on the other branches is very helpful and it’s necessary when it’s done in a way that adheres to the actual text of the constitution,” She said. “Helps the government not get too big when it is performing the role that it should.”
The decision of what that role of the Supreme Court is not very clear, according to Groen. The Court has said they decide what is Constitutional or what isn’t and that power has a tremendous affect on the federal and state governments.
“It’s started holding acts of Congress as unconstitutional, it’s holding state laws unconstitutional based on these implied rights,” Groen said “I’d say that to the extent that it implies anything from the text, it’s gone too far and it’s actually hurting us.”
Groen said that the Court has done a lot of good for the country though, specifically in areas that may not necessarily be in the spotlight of the media.
“To the extent that it focuses on the text and interprets it, in a manner in which a reasonably intelligent person at the time when it was written would understand it, I’d say that they’re doing their job and they’re helping us,” she said.
Yet skeptics still exist. James Turney, a youth pastor at a local church, said he has a negative feeling towards the Court.
“It’s more of a negative thing, because they have a lot of power and it doesn’t seem like they have accountability,” Turney said.
However, Turney then went on to say that he has not seen the affect of that power in his personal life.
“In the 27 years of my life I can’t necessarily say that I’ve seen a specific Supreme Court decision that’s affected me.”
Some are not as fortunate as Turney, Dorothy Timbs sees the effects of Supreme Court rulings in her daily life.
“In the last 25 to 30 years they’ve done a lot of damage.” Timbs is the Legal Counsel for the Department of State Legislation and Department of Medical Ethics at the National Right to Life organization in Washington, DC. Considering the decisions the court has made lately, Timbs said thing are “getting worse.”
Timbs worked extensively in the recent Terri Shiavo case and has become one of the media representatives for the National Right to Life in addition to her lobbying work. Not surprisingly, Timbs said one of the most effective abuses of power by the Supreme Court came in the Roe v Wade decision.
“It has had such a sweeping impact and the controversy has never dissipated and it never will,” Timbs said.
Americans convey different opinions concerning the role of the Supreme Court . But for Groen the problem boils down to knowledge.
“I think a lot of people don’t understand structurally how the system works and how cases come before the Supreme Court and how precedent works,” Groen said.
“I think people often confuse a policy issue and their individual beliefs on something with what is in the Court’s realm to decide.” She said that most people have turned it into a political issue for themselves or simply don’t care about the Court at all, “I think they tend to just right it off as something that doesn’t matter.”
