And Justice for Always
American Jurisprudence is on full display this week. The end of the Supreme Court’s session results in the more controversial case decisions being announced , parsed and debated. While each case has its specific merits for discussion, I’m pondering how the idea of three “separate but equal” branches of government has become one over the others. The conceptual idea is that the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches operate in a way that checks and balances against the others so that one branch doesn’t hold disproportionate sway over the other. It’s a nice idea and I remember learning about it in middle school and being oh so proud to be part of such a smart set up. The reality, however, is far from the ideal taught to schoolchildren. The nine Supreme Court justices hold a disproportionate amount of power to the other branches. And in a largely split Court, major policy decisions come down to one justice. The Citizen...