So we all know that judges at every level have deeply held beliefs that extend beyond mere judicial ideology to partisan political issues, and we all know that while most of them probably do their best to be fair in their jurisprudence, there are cases where the same set of beliefs that inform their political views will impact their judicial decision making. What then, is the value of expecting seated jurists to remain neutral in political campaigns?
Personally, although I certainly agree with all of Justice Ginsburg's comments about Trump, I still cringe about her publicly and repeatedly voicing them. I think it harms the Supreme Court as a public institution and it harms her legacy, which in my mind was truly estimable. I worry that it opens the door for more justices and judges at every level of the judiciary to ignore the ethics standards against partisan politics and assume they can get away with it.
I'm sure Ginsburg knew all of the ethical landmines she'd be creating and determined that she needed to do this anyway. And I'm sure this signals that she's probably planning to step down very soon regardless of who wins (such that she wouldn't even face the issue of possibly needing to recuse herself from cases involving a Trump Administration), but I'm still bothered by it.
Personally, although I certainly agree with all of Justice Ginsburg's comments about Trump, I still cringe about her publicly and repeatedly voicing them. I think it harms the Supreme Court as a public institution and it harms her legacy, which in my mind was truly estimable. I worry that it opens the door for more justices and judges at every level of the judiciary to ignore the ethics standards against partisan politics and assume they can get away with it.
I'm sure Ginsburg knew all of the ethical landmines she'd be creating and determined that she needed to do this anyway. And I'm sure this signals that she's probably planning to step down very soon regardless of who wins (such that she wouldn't even face the issue of possibly needing to recuse herself from cases involving a Trump Administration), but I'm still bothered by it.
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