Why Courts Are Handing Down Crappy Decisions on Voting and Abortion Rights

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Why Courts Are Handing Down Crappy Decisions on Voting and Abortion Rights


Voting rights activists thought they had a strong challenge to Pennsylvania's restrictive voter ID law. After all, Republican officials admitted the law was designed to disenfranchise Democratic voters and that actual voter fraud was non-existent. But last Wednesday Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson upheld the law. The 70-page opinion is a detailed and well-reasoned application of the law. And that's the problem.

As we've seen in the context of reproductive rights, the Supreme Court under the helm of Chief Justice John Roberts has made it exceedingly difficult to challenge the constitutionality of laws like the Pennsylvania's voter ID measure before they take effect. This has also emboldened Republican-led state legislatures to pass more restrictiive civil rights measures, like voting and abortion restrictions, with an understanding those laws will pass constitutional scrutiny. The district court decision upholding Arizona's 20-week gestational ban and this state court decision upholding discriminatory voter ID represent just the beginning. The legal landscape has tilted far to the right and is not likely to correct itself anytime soon.

The problem is two-fold. First, under Gonzales v. Carhart courts are to give wide discretion to the findings of fact used to support a particular piece of legislation. Standing alone, that premise is not all that controversial. During the legislative process lawmakers hold committee hearings, interested parties submit testimony and, presumably, the legislation that results is drafted to address a specific policy goal.

But the holding of Gonzales presumes that legislators draft legislation in good faith, and as we've seen time and time again in the states this is not a presumption we can afford to make. Whether its supporting so-called "fetal pain" laws or voter ID, Republicans are not legislating in good faith. They are gaming the process so their findings reflect ideological-driven conclusions supported by ideologically manufactured "facts" (like the ability of a fetus to feel pain at 20 weeks or the existence of voter fraud) to create a record insulated from judicial review. And then they pass the most outrageous legislation they can get away with. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/hot-news-views/why-courts-are-handing-down-crappy-decisions-voting-and-abortion-rights

[EC]

1. I'm thinking this is too thought out.

It could be, but I have been thinking that with the amounts of money Koch and Addelson are willing to spend, what is to stop them from bribing judges?