The US Supreme Court has voted 5 - 4 to allow Donald Trump to use $2.5 billion in funds (funds that were originally approved by Congress for the Pentagon) to build his controversial border wall with Mexico. This comes after a California court ruled that the money could not be so used because it was not specifically authorized by Congress for that purpose.
Well, agree or disagree with the ruling as you like, it does raise the question of the extent to which it was a judicial or a political decision. The five Supreme Court members who voted to allow the revised use of the funds were all Conservatives, and the four who voted against it were all Democrats. Is it possible that all five Conservatives interpreted points of law differently than the four Democrats? Or did they just vote with their political convictions, regardless of the underlying legal issues? If the latter, doesn't this make the Supreme Court all but useless as an objective legal body, and merely a puppet of the ruling political party?
Bear in mind that Donald Trump appointed a new member to the court, giving it a 5 - 4 Conservative majority, after President Obama was prevented from filling the vacant poition towards the end of his administration. It also comes hard on the heels of another blatantly political decision when the Supreme Court ruled at the end June that it could not stop states from political gerrymandering by redrawing voter districts to the clear disadvantage of Democrat candidates. The margin? Yes, 5 - 4. It's an ugly conclusion, but an inescapable one.
No comments:
Post a Comment