Letter to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice
U.S. Supreme Court
1 First St. NE
Washington, DC 20543


Chief Justice Roberts:

I write this letter, my first and dare say my last to a Supreme Court justice, in my 76th year. Before I begin the substance of this communication, some background information is required. I am Catholic, male, married for 52 plus years with three children and six grandchildren, and earned a PhD in 1973 from a brick and mortar institution, working as a full-time, tenured track university professor before abandoning academia to earn a living in the real world. Many years ago, I was an appointed a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission and later was publically elected as an alderman (running on the Republican ticket) in the Michigan municipality in which we lived. I am not an attorney nor have I ever taken courses or instruction in law. I have been retired for ten years from my final position as a senior urban planner with an international consulting firm. In terms of full disclosure, this letter is a cri de coeur and is but one result of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.

In my eyes and those of most Americans, judges must be fair, objective, impartial, unbiased, open-minded, and non-partisan. Those qualifications should apply in spades to Supreme Court justices; at least that’s the theory. At this point, I ask that you to recall Judge Kavanaugh’s second appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee as he repeatedly insulted sitting U.S. Senators and unrepentantly cast wild, baseless aspersions on their political party. Perhaps you can imagine those characteristics that all good judges should have as applying to him. I can not.

Now that Kavanaugh has joined the Supreme Court, it is time for Americans to finally acknowledge that the Court’s true identity as a political institution, one driven by personal values, transparent partisanship, and blatant conservative ideology. Throughout great swaths of American history, the Supreme Court has been aggressively pro-conservative, pro-big business, and openly prejudiced against people of color and the poor. I’m certain citations are not needed to support that statement; you know them far better than I.

In that long tradition, the Roberts Court has been and continues to be intent on protecting and enhancing the rights and privileges, wants and desires of right-wing conservatives; flagrant examples include its refusal to rein in the corruption that characterizes our political system by permitting unlimited spending on campaigns by the rich and powerful and by giving companies an unprecedented right to impose their religious views on employees. The Court has actively turned its back on the rights of progressives, organized labor, women, and people of color. You proved that contention with past decisions and now that Kavanaugh has brought his open and unapologetic partisan animus to your team those biases will be increasingly obvious to all citizens, many of whom, of course, given their political affiliations, will be nothing less than ecstatic about that state of affairs.

Congratulations to you, Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, and fellow right-wingers who crafted the political strategy that has made certain the Supreme Court will faithfully execute pro-conservative positions. Together you have succeeded in building a Court majority on a foundation of political partisanship and reactionary ideology. The only good thing is, at my age I most likely will not be around to witness the full flowering of your abandonment of the judicial principles most Americans hold dear.

I leave you and your fellow conservative justices to revel in your solid majority and to continue your concerted efforts to force America to the right while disingenuously holding up your hands in public protestations of faux impartiality.