Restoration
Let Justice Run...

by Darris McNeely

The real story was not the U.S. senators who worked out a last-minute compromise on the federal judge nominees. Nor was it the ailing Supreme Court justice who was wheeled in for his cancer treatment the same day. The real story is the battle to shape America's social and cultural agenda for years to come.

President George W. Bush's nominees to fill federal court positions have been held up for months (years, in some cases). Democrats had threatened to filibuster Senate debate in order to keep the Republican majority from approving the nominations. Instead a group of Republicans and Democrats got together and agreed to a compromise that allowed some of the judicial nominees to be approved.

Beyond the constitutional role of the Senate to give "advice and consent" on presidential nominations is a larger issue over who will set the beliefs and practices of society on issues of morality and social justice. Will the elected lawmakers at either the state or federal level pass legislation that regulates societal behavior? Or will the courts decide by overruling—declaring unconstitutional—laws passed by legislatures?

This is not something new; it has been going on since 1803, when the Supreme Court ruled that it was not bound by congressional acts it felt were unconstitutional.

In 1973 the most controversial decision of recent years concerned abortion. Roe v. Wade acknowledged the "right of personal privacy" for women in the matter of abortion. Abortion is an implied constitutional right, according to the decision, though who could imagine that this was the intent of the framers of the constitution?

Other cases have made the divide deeper between the opposing sides. In 2003 the Supreme Court overturned a Texas law that prohibited private, consensual homosexual acts. Many felt the court abandoned its role as a neutral observer in the culture wars. These major Supreme Court decisions, along with many others made by federal courts, are determining the social behavior and framework of the nation.

Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0506/restoration0506.htm

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Restoration Let Justice Run...

by Darris McNeely

Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0506/restoration0506.htm

Restoration
Let Justice Run...