Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in on September 29, 2005 with thunderous applause and praise. His appointment was seen as a win for conservatives and for originalism judicial philosophy. Despite the clear victory for traditional moral values, the Chief Justice expressed that his bipartisanship appointment proved that "judging is different from politics."
Boy, was he wrong. Politics soon became intertwined with the highest court when "Obamacare" was upheld.
The Affordable Care Act was arguably the most watched Supreme Court Decision in modern history. By the end of the day, after Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court liberals, he was vilified and called a traitor. Rand Paul said, “just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so..." Actually Rand, it does.
Now, Justice Kennedy has the same opportunity to be scorned. His swing vote decision on the current affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas, will give him an opportunity to put the judiciary branch in direct line with the political line of fire.
But like Roberts, Kennedy should not fear the conservative's wrath. He should keep current law in place or uphold the tradition of encouraging diversity in schools. I have first hand knowledge that a diversified school can lead to a better understanding of others and ourselves.
The first woman on the Supreme Court Justice believed this sentiment too when in 2003, Grutter v. Bollinger, she put in place the standard for how universities may consider race as a factor.
Justice O'Connor said race may be used in a flexible non mechanic way with a number of other factors by admissions offices when they determine who will be the next batch of students. This "holistic review" has worked and almost all universities want to keep the current system in place.
Besides schools wanting a diverse student body to ensure that the best and brightest students resembles the make up of the public, there is overwhelming evidence that race relations is still a problem today. A Newsweek poll suggests that minorities still feel that relations between race have stagnated or deteriorated.
The Trayvon Martin incident has split opinions on racial lines, the Arizona immigration law has brought attention to racial profiling, and the birther issue has led to questions of blatant racism.
One way these problems can be addressed is to ensure that students learn besides students of other races, socioeconomic backgrounds, and religion. When universities accept students based upon factors of race and other criteria, it will allow friendships to be made and differences to be embraced. This will lead to progress in race relations.
I graduated high school from an affluent, mostly white school, in Temecula. When I stepped foot into my law school after attending UCI, I met people from a wide variety of backgrounds. I was challenged for the first time to rethink some of my ideas related to affirmative action. Now that I have graduated, I know that a diverse student body is indelible to a career in law. The American Bar Association agrees, filing an amicus curiae brief in Fisher v. University of Texas to voice its support of our current law.
Justice O'Connor said in 2003 that “we expect...that 25 years from now, the use or racial preferences will no longer be necessary.” If the court agrees with her, it should keep Grutter in place until 2028. I think there is still some time left.
When Justice Kennedy makes his decision he should remember the words of Justice O'Connor. He definitely shouldn't consider the political assault on John Roberts. Maybe then Roberts statement will be correct. The Supreme Court will never have to bow to political pressure.
Awesome
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