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THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2005
Our View
Balancing
the scales
With the resignation of Justice Sandra Day
O’Connor still reeling in Washington, D.C.
circles, there are now rumors flying around about what 80-year-old William H. Rehnquist might do. He does have cancer but he’s still vertical and, although frail, he may not step down as many assume he will.
Another possibility to go would be Justice John Paul Stevens who is older than Rehnquist (85) and healthier and rumored to be hiring staff. That could mean he’s not going anywhere.
The only other female justice in history, other than O’Connor, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will surely miss O’Connor’s support and comraderie but will she, also, step down?
It’s a fine balancing act because O’Connor seemed to be the sensible one in the middle and a deciding vote when the too liberal judges and the too conservative judges didn’t agree. O’Connor’s vote often made the difference in which way the judicial arm of this country would sway.
She was undoubtedly one of the most influential and powerful women in America’s history and she has garnered a reputation for decision-making that always tempered the often aggressive debates of her fellow justices with a keen eye to the facts at hand and an open mind that would allow for the Supreme Court to maintain discretion in their future cases.
Ronald Reagan did good by catapulting this Arizona judge to the Supreme Court in 1981. O’Connor was unanimously approved by the Senate. She did nothing but hold her own and it hadn’t been an easy path to reach that lofty position.
O’Connor was certainly a model for the woman’s movement graduating from Stanford Law School in 1952 when most women hadn’t jumped on the notion of creating a life for themselves outside of the home.
But, O’Connor wasn’t always the feminist’s feminist and she surely wasn’t just a token female judge making history - although she has but all on her own merits.
While President Bush may want to put in the first Hispanic justice or perhaps another woman, what’s most important to keep in perspective is maintaining that balance of minds and hearts that has been so critical to our justice system particularly during O’Connor’s near 25 years of service.
It’s essential to have someone strong in the middle that can keep either scale from tipping too far from
Standing
room only
It’s Thursday and if you’re in the mood for music
head over to the Bleu Rock Inn to hear Linda
Heimstra singing songs from the 30s and 40s. It’s all for a good cause as donations go to the Rappahannock Animal Welfare League.
Aside from doing good, you’ll have a great time.
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