Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

The Supreme Court has spoken. Only it didn’t happen last (June 24, 2022), Friday. It spoke over a month ago when the infamous leaked drafted of its upcoming decision on abortion. On Friday, the Court did not disappoint. Certainly not those who were pleased with the decision to outlaw abortion and not those who saw the decision as something that was expected. After all, the Court is 6-3 conservative which means just about any cases before the Court involving “individual liberties” such as religion or other “moral” issues, will likely be ruled in favor of conservative leaning Americans. That is because the Supreme Court, perhaps once seen as an American institution where “true” justice was meted out, has long been turned into what many are starting to see as just another political machine instead of a judicial institution. When the draft was leaked, as no one at the Court has been found to be the culprit for leaking the draft, it severely tarnished the reputation and integrity of the Court because it is seen as the only place where once a case is settled, it was thought to be over. That is how Roe v. Wade was seen over fifty years ago. But that was before certain political groups began to converge together with the backing of well known conservative religious leaders who got the ear of conservative politicians in congress and used the “religion lighting rod” to slowly get conservative politicians erect laws that favored their causes. The issue of whether a woman can get an abortion is not over because in this nation and others, an individual can bring a lawsuit against any grievance that that person has with its government or even his/her next door neighbor. Even before the Supreme Court issued its official ruling, their were groups preparing for what happened Friday and now even as the words are being penned, lawsuits are being filed against the ruling. And the irony is that somewhere there will be a judge who will temporarily issue an injunction that will challenge the court’s ruling, which might find its way right back before the Supreme Court. It can happen. Just as one thought that Roe v. Wade was over, this may be the beginning of another “individual rights war”.

There is another battle that is not over and once again ironically, it has to do with the Supreme Court. The next battle on the forefront is the 2022 midterms, which will determine which party controls Congress. The party that controls Congress, usually gets the opportunity to “control” the direction of the Supreme Court. It’s not who’s in the White House, but who controls the Senate. Right now it is the Democrats, although sometimes fractured in their agendas when helping the president because the issue of voter dissatisfaction coupled with attacks from right media, makes it seem as if the party is dysfunctional. But if Democrats want to see a balance on the Court, it has to be in a position to confirm more liberal leaning judges on the Court. It shouldn’t have to be this way, it is just the way it is in America. One only can look at the newest justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, who will sit on the court when the new term begins in October, the fight that Democrats had over Republican objections led by Mitch McConnell. McConnell is not shy in telling Democrats what he/Republicans will to any Biden nominees to federal positions if Republicans take back control of the Senate. McConnell will call any nominee by Biden a “judicial activist” who will “rule like a policymaker implementing personal biases”. Has he looked at Justice Clarence Thomas’ ruling regarding his wife’s alleged participation in overturning the 2020 presidential vote. That is also one issue that Chief Justice John Roberts seems reluctant to address, as the history books will regard this moment in American judicial history as “The Roberts’ Court”, at a time when the integrity of the Court was highly questioned by some decisions/actions.

As mentioned earlier concerning lawsuits being filed, a suit was filed in Civil District Court in Orleans Parish, as Judge Robin M. Giarrusso issued a preliminary injunction against Louisiana’s so called “trigger law” that would have made abortion illegal the minute the Supreme Court issued its ruling. The hearing will be held July 8. As of now, that is a small victory, but La. Atty. Gen. Jeff Landry was not too pleased. In a statement Landry said, that opposition groups are “using scare tactics” along with confusion and misinformation over laws enacted by the state legislature. The Attorney General “forgot” to mention that the issue wasn’t about the law being signed, it was about the constitutionally of those laws. The group only did what Landry and others have done through their numerous lawsuits when they were trying to overturn Roe v. Wade. The battle is not over.