Posted on 10/01/2008 1:27:49 PM PDT by mojito
Less than a week before its October term is set to begin, the US Supreme Court became a spectacle of sound and fury on Wednesday over a landmark decision handed down three months ago declaring that the death penalty for child rapists is cruel and unusual punishment.
At issue was whether the high court would revisit the landmark 5-to-4 decision after revelations last summer that contradicted the majority justices' conclusion that a "national consensus" had emerged against the death penalty for the rape of a child.
The June 25 decision said only six states had laws authorizing capital punishment for child rape. But unknown to the justices at the time they wrote the opinion, Congress in 2006 had amended the nation's military law to authorize capital punishment in such cases for child rapists. In 2007, President Bush issued an executive order concurring with the congressional action.
These actions were not discussed in the case briefs to the high court or at oral argument.
In light of the new information, the US Solicitor General's Office and the state of Louisiana asked the court to rehear the case and take a fresh look at whether a "national consensus" had really formed against the practice.
The answer came on Wednesday. The author of the opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy, and the four other members of the majority stood behind the landmark decision, agreeing only to amend the opinion with a footnote mentioning the congressional action.
"The court has determined that rehearing is not warranted," Justice Kennedy said in a three-page statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
It is not within the purview of the court to decide based on public opinion.
But they DID, in the original opinion . . . at least THEIR view of “public opinion”.
The entire basis of Kennedy’s majority opinion was that there was a “national consensus” against executing child rapists.
Now, that “national consensus” is shown to be a fraud which exists only in the mind of Justice Kennedy and liberals on the Court.
So the entire rational of the decision is in tatters.
But Kennedy thinks that’s just fine.
Scalia’s opinon in Heller basically allowed the governmet to ban citizens from having M-16s regardless that they certainly qualify as militia weapons. This was based on M-16s not being in common use - ignoring the fact that they are not in common use BECAUSE they have been banned.
This is one case I’d actually like to see them take foreign law as a guide. Maybe a middle eastern country?
Instead of “gaffe” I think Mr. Richey meant “travesty”.
Consensus is a euphemism for a lack of leadership.
The Court long ago struck down the DP for cases of rape, so no surprise here. This country has been under assault for nearly a century from within, and it’s really starting to show now.
Headline should be: By 5-4 Marin the US Supreme Court Re-Affrims Child Rape
Justice Kennedy started with the result that he wanted, and worked his way backwards.
Kennedy doesn’t care what the reasoning is, just as long as capital punishment is forbidden for non-capital crimes.
He probably relied on French and German law to make up his mind, not American law.
Anthony Kennedy is a Reagan appointee.
Recently, I went to a Justic Clarence Thomas event at Chapman College.
In his talk, Justice Thomas mentioned that, during his first months on the court, he asked himself: “How did I get here?” But now, he often asks himself: “How did they get here.”
“Justice” Kennedy is the best friend in the world of terrorists, child rapists and baby killers.
Probably not a good idea. In Muslim countries they usually execute the girls who have been raped, not the men who rape them. "Honor killings."
Kennedy has shown himself to be unfit to serve on the court. His original opinion was improperly grounded. When that opinion is outed for the flawed logic it contained, he still doesn’t get it.
You don’t base your decisions on public opinion, or what has taken place in the various states. The issue of capital punishment for child rape stands on it’s own merits, not the views of the U.S. Public or even current standing law.
The Supreme Court is the arbiter of what is or is not Constitutional. Since when does it defer that responsibility to the states?
More frequently these days the Supreme Court is handing down decisions that exhibit infantile logic. The moral and logical vacancy in some of those minds is breathtaking.
Kennedy, serious dude, step down. You’re embarrassing yourself.
Yup, now it is “precedent” and they can turn their brains off and keep the ship on cruise control.
1928: 2+2=5-banana
1968: 2+5=2+(2+2 + banana) = 5+2+banana=52+banana-H20
2008: 2+52=H20-banana+X, where X can be neglected because of insufficient consensus
2048: *sorry, US Supreme Court not found, was subject to elimination due to consensus - for service in Spanish, press banana*
Hey, we cannot correct mistakes! Stare decisis is THE guiding principle!
Proof positive that while Reagan was a Conservative's Conservative, some of his staff were anything but. Whoever vetted this man to be put on a short list for Reagan, was an idiot.
The deck is truly stacked against us, even in an administration like Reagan's. Washington is so permeated with evil players...
Memo
From: Justice Anthony Kennedy
To: All Child Rapists
Re: Open Season!
No bag limit, no death penalty.
Happy Hunting!
“national consensus” plays a part in our elections. It plays a part in passing referendums and amendments to state and federal constitutions.
It does not play a part in Supreme Court interpretation of our Constitution.
We have become an oligarchy along time ago. We do as the SCOTUS tell us. Unelected judges are the real power in America. The American public are merely fodder for the elites to toy with - we elect the same people over and over again who vote with the elites and then we wonder why our country is slipping into the liberal abyss.
The Court didn't do that. Public opinion is irrelevant to the Court (what may be said in opinions notwithstanding). To the Court, the Constitution means whatever 5 Justices want it to mean. All the rehearing denial means is there are still 5 Justices against the death penalty for nonlethal child rape.
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