<
https://theconversation.com/has-us-style-politicisation-of-the-courts-come-to-australia-185384>
"In the landmark 1973 decision of
Roe v Wade, the US Supreme Court held that
the right to privacy provided by the 14th amendment to the US Constitution
protects a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. Last month, a leaked
draft of
Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization revealed that a majority
of the Supreme Court is poised to overturn that decision.
How did it come to this? In part, it’s a result of the extreme politicisation
of the US judiciary, with judges routinely appointed based on their political
views. Many people voted for former US President Donald Trump because he
promised to appoint conservative judges. Many others voted for President Joe
Biden because he promised to appoint judges that would protect
Roe and other
progressive laws.
Especially prominent in leading the charge against
Roe v Wade and the
politicisation of the US courts has been the Federalist Society, a
libertarian-conservative legal movement. Founded in 1982, the society has
played a major role in “deliberately, diligently shifting the country’s
judiciary to the right”. As well as training and socialising conservative law
students, lawyers and professors, the society helps appoint young conservatives
to prominent positions in government and on the courts.
The society’s success has been startling. Drawing on an expansive understanding
of free speech, it has been influential in weakening laws that limit how much
can be spent on elections (the 2020 US election cost more than $14 billion). It
has made gun control more difficult, almost led to the overthrow of Barack
Obama’s signature healthcare law, and helped gut voting rights protections. Six
of the nine judges on the US Supreme Court are current or former members of the
Federalist Society.
Fortunately, political views are not relevant for appointment to the judiciary
in Australia. But we must be vigilant: some politicians are publicly agitating
for the creation of a similar legal movement here."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
