And the Verdict on Justice Kennedy Is: Guilty

Washington Post ^ | 4/9/05 | Dana Milbank

[Crackingham]

Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is a fairly accomplished jurist, but he might want to get himself a good lawyer -- and perhaps a few more bodyguards. Conservative leaders meeting in Washington yesterday for a discussion of "Remedies to Judicial Tyranny" decided that Kennedy, a Ronald Reagan appointee, should be impeached, or worse.

Phyllis Schlafly, doyenne of American conservatism, said Kennedy's opinion forbidding capital punishment for juveniles "is a good ground of impeachment." To cheers and applause from those gathered at a downtown Marriott for a conference on "Confronting the Judicial War on Faith," Schlafly said that Kennedy had not met the "good behavior" requirement for office and that "Congress ought to talk about impeachment."

Next, Michael P. Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said Kennedy "should be the poster boy for impeachment" for citing international norms in his opinions. "If our congressmen and senators do not have the courage to impeach and remove from office Justice Kennedy, they ought to be impeached as well."

Not to be outdone, lawyer-author Edwin Vieira told the gathering that Kennedy should be impeached because his philosophy, evidenced in his opinion striking down an anti-sodomy statute, "upholds Marxist, Leninist, satanic principles drawn from foreign law."

Ominously, Vieira continued by saying his "bottom line" for dealing with the Supreme Court comes from Joseph Stalin. "He had a slogan, and it worked very well for him, whenever he ran into difficulty: 'no man, no problem,' " Vieira said.

The full Stalin quote, for those who don't recognize it, is "Death solves all problems: no man, no problem." Presumably, Vieira had in mind something less extreme than Stalin did and was not actually advocating violence. But then, these are scary times for the judiciary.

[Founding Father]

Those that joined in Kennedy's opinion should be impeached also.

[thoughtomator]

All tyrants have reason to fear the wrath of free men.

They have an easy way out though: OBEY THE LAW.

The problem is, they think they ARE the law.

[Jacquerie]

The bar for impeachment has been set way too high.

Should a math professor lose his job for teaching that 1+1=3?

What if a judge consulted the tooth fairy? What if he consulted fuzzy foreign norms? What's the difference? Neither pertain to our body of law.

[Stopislamnow]

I dunno, not being a lawyer or even very interested in law so I may be wrong, but if the Supreme Court of the Founders time had gone to "INTERNATIONAL LAW" instead of the "Constitution" for reference for a decision, I'd say the Founders and people of that time would have impeached them and stretched thier necks on the gallows.

Discounting the Constitution in favor of international law should not only be impeachable, but criminal with capitol punishment being an option.

[Numbers Guy]

Amazing, another Dana Milbank hit piece. I'm stunned.

[the Real fifi]

That's the verdict on Appellate Judge Calabresi who was just found to have violated judicial ehics when he compared the President to Mussolini and Hitler and spoke out against his reelection. Milbanks must have misread the opinion.

[SkyPilot]

Next, Michael P. Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said Kennedy "should be the poster boy for impeachment" for citing international norms in his opinions.

Justices O'Connor and Ginsberg have cited "international law and norms" in their opinions as well, and it is shameful. These justices are sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, yet they treat their positions as popularity contests for the EU and United Nations. It is ridiculous.

Oh, also, check this out. Justice Kennedy is now a politician.

Both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of narrow-mindedly obstructing the appointment of new federal judges, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said April 10 in Caplin Auditorium. "I think it's time for the parties to come together," he said, and agree on a confirmation procedure that stops the short-staffing of the nation's federal circuit courts, which Kennedy characterized as overworked and under-appreciated. "They had better start thinking about the dangers to judicial independence from insisting on certain political views," warned Kennedy, who received the 2003 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law in ceremonies the next day. "A good judge is someone who's willing to change his mind," he said, particularly when an abstract issue gets presented through a real victim and a specific context.

[CyberAnt]

And .. what about the guy who debated with Scalia last month about using INTERNATIONAL documentation to form an opinion about American cases.

Scalia was livid about it even being considered.

[Larry Lucido]

and perhaps a few more bodyguards

Because, you know, unlike socialists, conservatives are so prone to violence. (Rolls eyes)

[CyberAnt]

"these are scary times for the judiciary"

I sure hope so - I hope they realize we are fed up with their activism and it better stop - NOW!!

They need to fear being removed from office - and that fear alone should help to correct some of the horrible decisions they have made in the last few years.

Then .. the task will be to get those horrible decisions REVERSED.

One of the first should be Roe v. Wade, CFR, etc.

[infocats]

Phyllis Schlafly, doyenne of American conservatism, said Kennedy's opinion forbidding capital punishment for juveniles "is a good ground of impeachment."

Nonsense. Does anyone see a high crime or misdemeanor inherent in his judgement, however one may disagree with it. Ms Schlafly should study the constitution.

[canalabamian]

"[It is] working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the states, and the government of all be consolidated into one."

Thomas Jefferson on the federal judiciary

[mathluv]

That is what Mark Levin talks about in his book "Men in Black".

[RJL]

But then, these are scary times for the judiciary.

Only because the judiciary is making it scary for Americans.

[RJL]

"We do not discuss cases before hearing oral argument," he said, "because we don't want cliques to form beforehand. This is the first time we know what each other is thinking.

They won't listen or talk about cases with each other, American citizens or politicians, but it's vital that they listen to other countries laws and customs?

They desperately need to be impeached!

[RJL]

Does anyone see a high crime or misdemeanor inherent in his judgement, however one may disagree with it.

Yes, if they are citing other countries laws and customs in their rulings.

[GeekDejure]

the nation's federal circuit courts, which Kennedy characterized as overworked and under-appreciated.

Hey... what about "under-paid"? Could it be they are accepting bribes and/or hush money from secret sources? Good grief... that would be illegal and unconstitutional behavior for a federal or state judge.

And just exactly how and why would I come up with such an idea in the first instance???

But then again we need to remember what Stalin had to say about ideas . . . "Ideas are more powerful than guns. If we don't let our people have guns, why should we let them have ideas." -- Josef Stalin

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

...these are scary times for the judiciary....

No, these are scary times because of the judiciary.

[yankeedame]

A la fête de l'être Suprême, le 8 juin 1794, on se moque ouvertement de lui....commence le long discours de Robespierre. "Peuple de France, République chérie, près de cet arbre de la liberté..."

=============================================

...Conservative leaders meeting in Washington yesterday for a discussion...decided that Kennedy... should be impeached, or worse..."

...Next, Michael P. Farris...said Kennedy "should be the poster boy for impeachment" for citing international norms in his opinions. "If our congressmen and senators do not have the courage to impeach and remove from office Justice Kennedy, they ought to be impeached as well."

Not to be outdone, lawyer-author Edwin Vieira told the gathering that Kennedy should be impeached because his philosophy, evidenced in his opinion striking down an anti-sodomy statute, "upholds Marxist, Leninist, satanic principles drawn from foreign law."