Sheila Kennedy

I am always mystified when polls show that most Americans don’t even consider judicial appointments when they vote. They don’t realize that the judiciary can change America profoundly. And they also don?t realize that, despite campaign rhetoric and talk radio sound-bites, the choice is not between "liberal" judges and "conservative" judges. In the world of Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore, the terms liberal and conservative have become insults; they have lost whatever analytical meaning they ever had, and they definitely don’t help us understand the judicial choices confronting us.
Continue reading “Just One Vote”

My religious tradition does not have a counterpart to the Christian concept of ?witness,? but as I understand it, witnessing implies an obligation to stand up for righteousness and truth. To bear witness is to speak out against injustice, to call attention to wrongs, be they civic or moral. It is an effort to bring us back to ?first principles.?
Continue reading “Witness”

The nation’s founders realized that judges wouldn?t always be right, but they nevertheless insisted that they be independent. In the system they created, majority rule stops where the Bill of Rights begins. If judges weren?t shielded from the political passions of the day, the founders knew the Bill of Rights would quickly become the "Set of Suggestions."
Continue reading “Assault on Judges”

There has been no dearth of reaction, pro and con, to the Supreme Court?s ruling striking down sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas. But while gay rights activists were understandably elated by the ruling, it really wasn?t about gay rights at all. It was a decision about the proper role of the state.
Continue reading “Scalia and the Culture War”

There is an old joke that goes something like this: How do you find a needle in a haystack? Why, you burn down the haystack. It?s reminiscent of the infamous Viet Nam explanation that ?We had to burn the village down in order to save it.?
Continue reading “Patriot Games”