-Caveat Lector- Online Journal - http://www.onlinejournal.com 02-02-01: My Letter to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor By PJ McIlvaine Justice O'Connor: According to recent news reports, it's said that you're personally disappointed over the expressions of public outrage fueled by your 5-4 ruling in Bush vs. Gore. You're so disgusted, it's alleged, that you're even thinking of hastening your retirement from the court. I too am disappointed. I'm disappointed that such an august, venerable body as the Supreme Court allowed themselves to be dragged into what was essentially a political wrangle. The public was allowed a rare peek under your black robes and to our collective dismay, discovered that instead of acting as interpreters of the law, you were merely partisans of George W. Bush. Why did I even bother to vote? Never mind that you, Justices Scalia and Thomas should have all recused yourselves because of your ties to the Bush law firm, transition team and admitted bias. Bury the fact that two weeks previous to your December 12th decision, you had already refused to consider Bush's bogus Equal Protection argument. And let's not even mention learned attorneys like Vincent Bugiliosi and Alan Dershowitz and hundreds of law professors and scholars throughout the country who say in their legalese what I knew in my heart the night of December 12th even without reading your "per curious" decision: it sucked. I have a deep, dark confession to make. I had once aspired to be a lawyer. I followed high profile cases like a kid running after an ice cream truck. I read about great attorneys like Clarence Darrow, William Kunstler and F. Lee Bailey and vowed only to defend "innocent people." I loved Atticus Finch. I studied pre-law in college but eventually my love for words was stronger than my love of the law. So it was with special interest that I followed the legal issues raised in the Florida Fiasco and soon enough, all my beliefs about our judicial system went to hell in a handbasket. You see, Justice O'Connor, I was an idealist who thought that the Supreme Court would ultimately rule in favor of having every legal vote count and give the courts in Florida enough time to count them. Boy, was the laugh ever on me. For the first time in our nation's history, the Supreme Court appointed our President. That was shameful enough but apparently, you labored under the notion that the public was going to rise up and nominate you for sainthood for saving us from this manufactured "constitutional crisis." Instead, you're annoyed with us peons who see your ruling for the garbage it is and have the courage to say so. This sorry spectacle is the legacy of the Rehnquist court, and I hope you're proud of yourself as you contemplate retirement in sunny Arizona. The country hasn't been so divided since the Vietnam War, and we have you and your fellow cohorts in crime to thank. I think what infuriates me the most was that your action was so unnecessary. If you had permitted the Florida recount to continue, by that Monday or Tuesday, we would've known who had won. Under Florida procedure, Bush could have then properly contested the results if it had gone against him. If the recount had shown Bush to be the victor, then there would have been no case to argue before you. It would've been resolved and the results accepted, albeit grudgingly. But you and your Bush buddies on the Supreme Court were so frightened that the recount would show that Gore had won and not Bush, you couldn't even take that chance, so you had to issue the stay to stop it while in progress. Worse, when you released your decision, you added insult to injury by remanding it back to the Florida Supreme Court with the admonition to "fix" the constitutional problems but, ooops, sorry, we ran out the clock by issuing the stay, so you can't do it in time. Better still, to properly tie all the loose ends, your decision was good for this case only. No wonder Justices Souter and Breyers reportedly left the court in an infuriated huff. They saw the hurricane on the horizon, even if you couldn't. So in the end we have an illegitimate ruling to go along with our illegitimate President because if logically applied, your decision would effectively overturn ALL elections since there are no "uniform standards." How odd that since your ruling, I've yet to hear of any state legislature taking up the issues you addressed. Obviously, they all feel that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, with one grave exception: when it comes before the Supreme Court in a close Presidential election and your name happens to be Gore. I used to believe that Supreme Court stood for fair play, decency and equality. Silly old idealistic me. I guess I overdosed on Perry Mason re-reruns. Enjoy your retirement, Justice O'Connor. Might I suggest violin lessons? I dissent, PJ McIlvaine PJ McIlvaine is a screenwriter. Her "Annus Horribilis," directed by Eric Stolz and starring Stolz, Mimi Rogers and Karen Allen, will makes its debut later this year on Showtime. Copyright © 1998-2001 Online Journal. All rights reserved. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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