September 8, 2008
The Judicial Confirmation Network (www.judicialnetwork.com) today released "The Parties on the Courts," a chart comparing the positions of the Democratic and Republican parties on federal courts and judges.
The chart is based upon the positions outlined in the two parties' respective platforms from their conventions, as well as the statements made by the presidential candidates for each party.
"There is perhaps no clearer distinction between the Republican and Democratic parties than their positions on judges, and particularly the appointments that each candidate would make to the U.S. Supreme Court," said Wendy E. Long, counsel to JCN. "Because the next President is likely to choose Justices that will determine the outcome of important cases for the next generation, the stakes for the Supreme Court could not be higher than they are in this election.
"John McCain and the Republican platform identify judicial activism as a threat to self-government and reject judges legislating from the bench. Barack Obama and the Democratic platform do not, which is not surprising given that Obama has said he prefers liberal activist judges and would not appoint those who practice judicial restraint.
"The Republican platform condemns the Court's erosion of private property rights, its granting legal rights to enemy combatants, its interference with the death penalty, its intrusion into the realm of abortion policy, its undermining of traditional marriage laws, and its injection of foreign law into American jurisprudence. The platform is clear and specific about the problems of the courts and what the model of the judiciary should be.
"The Democrats are silent about all of this. Instead, their platform recites self-evident propositions that fail to illuminate the differences between the parties, including statements such as: 'Our Constitution is not a nuisance.' It's odd that anyone would even evaluate the Constitution in such terms, but the reason the Democrats don't consider the Constitution a 'nuisance' is that they have no qualms about running around it in order to impose liberal policies on the American people."
The Parties on the Courts
A Judicial Confirmation Network Analysis of Party Positions
September 2008
Platform position
Calls judicial activism a threat?
Opposes Kelo eminent domain decision?
Opposes Court granting legal rights to enemy combatants?
Opposes Court's interference with death penalty?
Opposes courts setting abortion policies?
Opposes judges undermining traditional marriage laws?
Opposes judges injecting foreign law into American jurisprudence?
Opposes Senate inquiry into a judicial candidate's religious convictions? |
GOP
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES |
DEM
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO |
|
