Tuesday, July 9, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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Once again, Brian Greenspun nailed it with his June 30 column “Supreme Court takes an untimely duck.”
The highly partisan court, with its one determining swing vote, decides the rule of law for 335 million Americans. Our liberties and democracy for the next 40-plus years have fallen victim to a corrupt Senate leadership under “grim reaper” leader Mitch McConnell, who effectively controls judicial appointments.
The recent actions of the court with regard to gerrymandering and the citizenship census question are only the beginning. Still looming are Roe v. Wade, health care, civil rights, voting rights, marriage equality, citizenship and a host of issues dealing with political power, war powers, pardon power, etc.
The 2020 election is an opportune time to replace the old political deadwood of Congress and bring the Supreme Court into the 21st century by revising the congressionally approved Judiciary Act of 1869.
The act was passed by Congress when there were 38 states with a total population of 30 million and the average life expectancy was less than 60 years. It is time to expand the judicial base so that it is more representative of our nation, with appointments of qualified judges who are Native American, Muslim, Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern, LBGTQ, etc. — and apply term limits.
Then, the court could deal more effectively with a future that involves genetics, artificial intelligence, robotics, space law, alternate reality, computer identity and God knows what else.
