Losing Faith in the Supreme Court

Over the last few weeks, the Supreme Court has released several decisions that put people in need at risk and allow those who obstructed democracy to escape accountability. During this past term, we have witnessed decisions which: 

• Allows states to arrest or fine homeless individuals for using survival items like blankets or pillows in public spaces when no alternative shelter is available. 

• Expands the power of judges to interpret policy, while weakening the power of federal agencies to interpret the law, putting at risk thousands of federal regulations that address issues such as climate change, student loans, affordable housing, and accessible healthcare. 

• Sidesteps critical questions about abortion access and maintains a status quo in which 24 states have banned or restricted abortion across the country.

• Ignores the language of a federal obstruction-of-justice statute to hold that the January 6 rioters did not “obstruct or impede” the congressional proceeding to certify the election, thus calling into question the cases of potentially hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants who faced the same charge. 

• Affirms that President Trump is immune from prosecution for “official acts” taken during his presidency, creating the possibility for a sitting president to lawfully commit heinous crimes in their official capacity while in office. With this ruling, the prospects for a trial before the election seem increasingly remote. And if Trump prevails at the polls, he could order the Justice Department to drop the charges. 

As people of faith in pursuit of a just world for all, these court decisions are disheartening and alarming. Equally alarming are controversies surrounding the ethical conduct of the justices themselves. From financial involvement with those who come before the Court to ties with the attempt to overthrow the 2020 election, these past few years have revealed a disturbing number of instances calling some justices’ ethical behavior into serious question. This is a great concern for the general public, with 40% of Americans saying they have “hardly any confidence at all” in the Supreme Court.  

Federal judges sit in a unique position of public trust. They have lifetime tenure, a privilege intended to insulate them from the potential corruption of politics. Earlier this term, the Supreme Court announced an ethics code — a first for the court. Under those guidelines, justices are encouraged to avoid even the appearance of bias. However, the code has no clear enforcement mechanism and there is no process, at least that has been disclosed to the public, for investigating a complaint of a violation or any disciplinary measures that may be imposed if a violation was found. Additionally, while the Supreme Court has reportedly cautioned its employees against anything that might signal a political display, there is no clear avenue for how the Court should respond to such a violation. 

Justices who accepted gifts and money without disclosure potentially stand in violation of a law passed after Watergate that requires justices, judges, members of Congress and federal officials to disclose most gifts. Justices who are directly linked, through family, to supporting the overthrow of an election are expected to recuse themselves but haven’t. As it stands, the Supreme Court is left almost entirely to police itself, but there is little evidence this internal policing is happening.  

Our faith demands that we do everything in our power to shore up democracy in this nation. Part of that is ensuring each branch of government operates as it should, and neither oversteps nor abdicates its power to another branch. Unfortunately, it seems the Supreme Court has sought to take power away from federal agencies, sheltered insurrectionists, and criminalized the poor using a majority that is under the influence of the wealthy and powerful. That is why we must support term limits for Supreme Court justices, which would give each president the opportunity to appoint the same number of Supreme Court justices each term, reducing partisan gamesmanship around each confirmation and making the Court more democratically representative. And we must urge Congress to institute a binding code of ethics so that Americans can trust the justices are ruling based on the law, not politics and personal interest.  

It can feel as though we have no way to access, reform, or change the highest court in the land. But we must remember that our Constitution gives Congress the power to make sure that the Supreme Court serves the people and not themselves. And we, the people, elect Congress. We hold them accountable when they abdicate responsibility. As we head to the polls this November, read about what the congressional candidates in your district and state are doing to reform the Supreme Court. And vote, so we can fight for a more just tomorrow, today.