A worrying authoritarianism?
Subsequently, Donald Trump’s running mate suggested on several occasions that the President should defy the Supreme Court if it did not validate his approach. A proposal whichflies in the face of our collective, fundamental and deeply held understanding of civil society that the Supreme Court has the final say on what the law says in this country, for better or worse. Americans may not like it – they say it often and sometimes openly – but it is a widely accepted fact of American governance, and Vance’s obvious willingness to reject it is worrying.“, writes the magazine Politico. “This certainly fuels concerns expressed by some about authoritarianism as an element of his thinking. These are not the kinds of things the leaders of a democracy say – and certainly not on relatively common legal issues“, explains Daniel Farber, professor at Berkeley Law School.
“It is not in the nature of judicial work to make everyone happy.”
In his year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. expressed serious concerns about ensuring judicial independence. “In recent years, elected officials of all political persuasions have raised the specter of contempt for federal court decisions. These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be firmly rejected“, he writes. “If he does not quote it directly, we can easily think that he is referring to the proposals of the future vice-President. “It is not in the nature of judicial work to make everyone happy. […] Every administration suffers defeats in the justice system – sometimes in cases with major ramifications for the executive or legislative branch or other important matters. Nevertheless, in recent decades, court decisions, whether popular or not, have been followed, and the nation has avoided the impasses that marked the 1950s and 1960s.”
“Judicial independence deserves to be preserved. As my late colleague, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wrote, an independent judiciary is ‘essential to the rule of law in any country,’ but it ‘is vulnerable to assaults; it can be broken if the society the law is intended to serve does not take care to ensure its preservation.’ I urge all Americans to appreciate this legacy of our founding generation and to cherish its continued existence. , intimidation and distrust of judges because of their work harms our Republic and is totally unacceptable”, he adds.
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