-Caveat Lector-
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010202/aponline174349_000.htm
Ginsburg: Election 'Storm' on Court
By Laurie Asseo
Associated Press Writer
Friday, Feb. 2, 2001; 5:43 p.m. EST
WASHINGTON Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg calls the
bitterly contested presidential election case a "breathtaking
episode" and a "December storm over the U.S. Supreme Court."
The court's actions "await history's judgment," says Ginsburg,
who was among the dissenters in the sharply divided 5-4 ruling
Dec. 12 that halted a Florida recount sought by Democrat Al Gore
and in effect handed the presidency to Republican George W. Bush.
She spoke at the University of Melbourne Law School on Thursday,
and the court released a text of her speech Friday.
"Whatever final judgment awaits 'Bush v. Gore' in the annals of
history, I am certain that the good work and good faith of the
U.S. federal judiciary as a whole will continue to sustain public
confidence at a level never beyond repair," the justice said.
Ginsburg's topic was judicial independence, and she had some
sharp words about House Republican Whip Tom DeLay's 1997 proposal
to impeach federal judges whose rulings he believed did not
follow the law.
DeLay "is not a lawyer but, I'm told, an exterminator by
profession," she said. DeLay once ran an exterminating business
in Texas.
"I suppose I might someday end up on his list of impeachment
targets perhaps even for reasons beyond my control," said
Ginsburg, who noted she once was misquoted in a news report as
saying the Constitution was outdated.
"With all due respect to critics like Mr. DeLay, casual use of
impeachment would disserve not only the federal judiciary but
also the constitutional principles that have seen the United
States through its worst crises," Ginsburg said.
She also discussed "what can fairly be described as political
hazing of federal judicial nominees. The confirmation process too
often strays from examining the qualifications of each nominee
into an endeavor to uncover some hidden agenda the nominee
supposedly has."
Ginsburg speculated that politicians' criticism of the judiciary
may stem from "a certain jealousy" of life-tenured judges.
It remains to be seen how President Bush's judicial nominees will
fare in a Senate evenly divided between Republicans and
Democrats, she said. But she said the judiciary's performance
"depends critically ... on efforts to streamline the nomination
and confirmation process."
She called the election dispute "this breathtaking episode,"
saying pressure for a resolution "pushed the unanimity of the
United States Supreme Court past its breaking point" when it
halted the Florida recount to hear arguments in the case.
Numerous news commentators had urged the nation's highest court
to intervene, she noted, adding, "These sentiments reflect, it
seems to me, long and widely held trust in the fairness and
reasoned decision-making of the U.S. federal judiciary."
Ginsburg quoted Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist as calling the
independent judiciary "one of the crown jewels" of the nation's
system of government.
"I am hopeful that the jewel will remain bright despite the
December storm over the U.S. Supreme Court," she said.
On the Net: The Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press
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