Leahy
Stresses Importance Of Judicial Independence
In Face Of Attacks To Erode Judiciary’s Role As A
Crucial Check
…At
Judicial Conference, Leahy Warns of Various
Court-Stripping Measures
WASHINGTON
(Tuesday, March 14) – Senator Patrick Leahy, (D-Vt.),
Tuesday stressed the importance of an independent
judiciary as a crucial check in our system and warned of
the growing attacks against courts across the country
after addressing the opening of the Judicial Conference
of the United States.
Leahy, the
ranking Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee,
has been highlighting for months now the issue of the
rise of threats from the political branches to strip the
courts of jurisdiction, of demands for particular
results in specific cases, and of threats of impeachment
based on disagreements with court rulings.
“There is a
disturbing trend afoot to erode the crucial independence
of the judiciary. We have seen a growing number of bills
to strip the federal courts, including the Supreme
Court, of jurisdiction to decide cases involving First
Amendment rights. The President and others predicated
their support for a constitutional amendment to
federalize the definition of marriage on disparaging the
judiciary,” Leahy said following the conference, which
is held in closed session.
“Whether they
are wrapped up in social controversies about the Pledge
of Allegiance, school prayer, or the Ten Commandments,
or the so-called ‘war on terror’ like the ill-advised
floor amendment to limit habeas rights and judicial
review of treatment of detainees at Guantanamo, I have
opposed these efforts,” he said.
One of the
most high-profile and extreme examples of this
Republican-controlled Congress trying to override courts
was its misguided intervention in the case of Terri
Schiavo, Leahy noted.
Several
Republican-backed measures to strip courts of
jurisdiction on certain issues have been introduced in
the House, including bills that would deny courts from
hearing any questions relating to the constitutionality
of the Pledge of Allegiance, the interpretation of the
federal Defense of Marriage Act, as well as blocking
funds to enforce an existing court decision on the
display of the Ten Commandments.
“It is well within the rights of every American, and
every member of Congress, to disagree with a court
decision, be it a state court, a federal court or even
the Supreme Court. However, Congress has sought to
nullify decisions by passing measures in the House that
would deny federal funds to enforce them. These
legislative attacks pose a threat to the judiciary’s
independence,” said Leahy.
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who retired
from the bench just last month, recently expressed
similar concerns in a speech last week at Georgetown
University. In her remarks, O’Connor warned that the
persistent strong-arming attacks against the judiciary
represented a direct threat to fundamental
constitutional freedoms.
Leahy and
Senator Arlen Specter, (R-Pa.), the chairman of the
Judiciary Committee, addressed the conference at the
Supreme Court. It is the first conference chaired by
Chief Justice John Roberts.
The Judicial
Conference, created by statute and led by the Chief
Justice, is the policymaking body concerned with the
administration of the federal courts. The Chief Judge
from each appellate circuit and selected district court
judges attend. They are assigned by the Chief to
various policy committees, and they vote on various
issues relevant to the administration of justice
including whether to raise official concerns about
pending legislation that will impact the federal courts.
For example, they opposed last year’s class action
legislation.
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