Thursday, January 25, 2007

A Response to Justice Scalia on Bush v. Gore

In handling a Bush v. Gore question from the audience at Iona College the other day, Justice Scalia said:

"It's water over the deck -- get over it"

But the suspension of democracy in Florida in 2000 is not something to "get over" any more than other poorly decided Supreme Court decisions such as:

• Plessy v. Ferguson's holding that "separate but equal" race discrimination was OK, or the
  
• Dred Scot decision holding that slaves could not sue in federal court since no slave or descendant of a slave could be a U.S. citizen, or
• Korematsu v. United States, holding that U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry citizens could be summarily relocated to detention camps during WW II based solely on their race.

In fact, Bush v. Gore was worse than all three. For each decision above could be overturned by the voters either in Congress or by constitutional amendment. But since Bush v. Gore dealt with the actual disenfranchisement of voters, it could not. All legally cast ballots should have been counted.

Bad judicial decisions are not something to "get over," but are mistakes to be learned from.

Labels: Judiciary, Odds and Ends, U.S. Supreme Court

posted by Eric Turkewitz  # Permanent Link

The New York Personal Injury Law Blog does not accept advertising banners, pop up ads or other distractions from its content. But since The Turkewitz Law Firm is the sole sponsor, it may be considered a form of attorney advertising in accordance with New York rules going into effect February 1, 2007 (22 NYCRR 1200.1, et. seq.)

Throughout the blog as it develops, you may see examples of cases we have handled, or cases from others, that are used for illustrative purposes. Since all cases are different, and legal authority may change from year to year, it is important to remember that prior results in any particular case do not guarantee or predict similar outcomes with respect to any future matter, including yours, in which any lawyer or law firm may be retained.

Some of the commentary may be become outdated. Some might be a minority opinion, or simply wrong. No reader should consider this site (or any other) to be authoritative, and if a legal issue is presented, the reader should contact an attorney of his or her own choosing for advice.

Finally, we are not responsible for the comments of others that may be added to this site.