When John Roberts talks, Congress should listen

Jeb Golinkin
Yahoo! News
3/1/2013

When Section Five of the Voting Rights Act is struck down, don’t say the chief justice didn’t warn you

The Supreme Court appears very likely to strike down Section Five of the Voting Rights Act this term. (That law requires nine states with a history of discrimination, as well as individual counties across the country, to obtain permission from the Justice Department or a federal judge before making changes to voting procedures.)

The probable downfall of Section Five should surprise no one. And frankly, those complaining about the justices who are likely going to strike the law down are upset with the wrong people. When Section Five falls, we should direct our anger at Congress, not the Supreme Court.

It’s not like it was hard to see this coming. In 2009, the Supreme Court disposed of a case called Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder. Chief Justice John Roberts used the so-called canon of constitutional avoidance to put off directly addressing Section Five’s continued constitutionality. But in Northwest Austin, every member of the court joined an opinion questioning the lack of contemporary evidence justifying the coverage formula.

Let me repeat that for emphasis: In Northwest Austin, eight members of the court joined the chief justice’s opinion expressing very deep reservations about the constitutionality of Section Five as currently applied. The ninth, Clarence Thomas, flat out said that he believed the entire Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional.

Furthermore, Roberts’ opinion is filled with warning after warning that any semi-competent observer of the court could immediately identify as language intended for Congress…

The article continues at Yahoo! News.

Also, Sotomayor, Kagan browbeat Scalia over Voting Rights Act argument.

…the mainstream media that always describe Scalia as “acerbic” for his aggressive questioning did not judge Sotomayor and Kagan by the same standards. Instead, mainstream media outlets like the Washington Post said Sotomayor’s and Kagan’s performances proved they were “ready for battle.”

 

 

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