By John Johnson II
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has had a sordid and controversial history since its establishment by the Judiciary Act of 1789. Historians once deemed their ruling in Dred Scott v. Sanford the most egregious decision ever. However, the gravity of their recent Trump v. United States decision, which may surpass even this infamous ruling, is a cause for concern. SCOTUS’s recent decision demands that these six conservative complicit conspiratorial justices must face impeachment for “lack of good behavior.”
The US Constitution Article III, Section 1 states that Supreme Court Justices serve “during good behavior, which typically means for life”. However, Justices can only face removal from office through impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate. Since the Constitution doesn’t define “good behavior” or “bad behavior,” Congress has the authority to specify both.
Congress and the House of Representatives have the authority and the power to reign in rogue partial Justices who’ve become God’s unto themselves. In 1804, Associate Justice Samuel Chase faced impeachment for refusing to dismiss biased jurors and excluding or limiting defense witnesses. However, the Senate acquitted him. Justices now rule and behave unethically as though they’re God’s, thus beholding to no one, not even Congress. But a united Congress, with its immense power, has the potential to change that.
Chief Justice John Roberts is behaving more like Trump’s Consigliere. The remaining conservative five justices, acting as coconspirators, have, in their recent Trump v. United States decision, granted the president, including former President Trump, absolute immunity. This decision not only undermines the very fabric of our democracy but also significantly alters the balance of power in the U.S. judiciary, a matter of grave concern.
SCOTUS’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a ruling widely unacceptable to nationwide voters, has significant implications. The loss of reproductive freedoms for women is a step back in our societal progress, relegating them to a status comparable to livestock and poultry.
SCOTUS has a penchant for partiality, which is “bad behavior” rather than “good behavior.” Case in point: Trump’s previous actions of attempting to force his vice president, Pence, to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power and directing his Attorney General to investigate political opponents no longer constitutes criminality. This potential for abuse of power is a cause for alarm.
Let’s look closely at how SCOTUS weakens Democracy by granting Presidents absolute criminal immunity to disregard laws and any norms they choose to break. A president may choose to add criminal acts to all unofficial acts not included within the core of presidential powers. The core of presidential powers does not allow a President to execute any action that violates Constitutional laws.
Simply put, the Supreme Court exceeds its judicial authority whenever it arbitrarily interprets any law to surreptitiously grant any power that does not exist within the US Constitution. In other words, the Supreme Court cannot arbitrarily expand the core of Presidential powers. Their right to interpret doesn’t allow expansion. Congress conclusively reserves the power to amend the Constitution.
Upon further review, any first-year law student can easily decipher in the Trump v. United States Case that SCOTUS openly, without any pretentiousness, carefully crafted a ruling to shield Trump from all past criminal indictments/convictions and pending ones. Has SCOTUS not attempted to abort Democracy along with the rule of law?
Despite the evidence of partiality, SCOTUS’s six staunch conservative justices have repeatedly ruled in Colorado v. Trump and Trump v. United States cases to shield Trump from prosecution. Thus far, their actions have ensured that Trump, a convicted felon, remains a viable candidate for the 2024 Presidential election.
Again, only in America, where a white supremacy ideology remains prevalent, could a white man convicted of 34 felonies become an elected Republican candidate for the Presidency. His rap sheet also includes a sexual assault conviction. It’s an insult for him to suggest Black men identify with his criminality. This identification tag more appropriately fits SCOTUS’s infamous conservative six complicit, “bad behaving” justices.
YOU BE THE JUDGE!
