Worst US Supreme Court Justices

I've picked Thomas and Alito.

I fundamentally disagree with a lot of how Scalia approaches social issues within his bizarre legal context, but his position on the court reminds me of the West Wing episode 'The Supremes'. His relationship with Ginsburg reminds me of the relationship that Chief Justice Lang and Justice Mulready are shown to have in that West Wing episode, and it is interesting to see how political ideologies battle against each other within legal spheres. As problematic as the Conservative/Liberal divide is on the court, it certainly produces some fascinating legal literature, and it really does offer you varying perspectives on how their minds work and debate with each other. It is just unfortunate that Scalia comes with a load of bigoted bile attached to his opinions, as him and Ginsburg are interesting to hear for alternative perspectives on an issue. It's also really interesting when decisions go in unusual directions, like when Roberts upheld a keypart of 'Obamacare' and the way the Justices voted to dismiss the Prop 8 case.

 

Scalia is a bigot, and woefully out of step with society, but he is a brilliant scholar.

Thomas, on the other hand, is not the sharpest tool in the shed, is corrupt as hell -- bought-and-paid for by industry (his wife has received large bribes financial support from various companies she's worked for over the years), and I get the distinct impression that this is just a job for him; I don't think he has any passion for what he does, or the importance of the role he plays.

The story of how he got appointed is just pathetic. Thurgood Marshall, who, as an attorney, had argued more cases before the Supreme Court than any other attorney, including Brown v Board of Education, one of the most important modern-day decisions, was retiring. He was also the first black Supreme Court member. Bush the 1st was president at the time, and had to find a conservative black person, any conservative black person, to replace Marshall, as Bush was smart enough to realize he couldn't replace Marshall with a bigoted white conservative. So he managed to find Thomas. Thomas lied his ass off about all sorts of stuff, had an extremely thin judicial history, clearly was no intellectual powerhouse, and absolutely nothing about him was remotely compelling. It was the equivalent of replacing a Rolls Royce with a broken bicycle.

Bush II attempted an even worse stroke of brilliance, trying to appoint Harriet Miers, then-White House counsel, to the Supremes. Meirs had no knowledge of major Supreme Court decisions, no real experience as a jurist, and hadn't even bothered to read up on anything before she started meeting senators. Fortunately, even the Republicans realized she was dumb as a post, and after she was quoted saying that George W. Bush was one of the most intelligent people she'd ever met... well, that helped torpedo what tiny chance she might have had in the first place.

I find it interesting how Democrats generally try to find intelligent, thoughtful, extremely educated, and well spoken jurists who will make wise interpretations and judgments, while Republicans often try to find the most bigoted, ignorant, or downright stupid people they can.

 

Well, that was my thought as well (and, I think the thought of the majority of people, probably even Republicans behind closed doors.) Perhaps she spends most of her time around potted plants or something.