Should Courts be Political?

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When you think about the legal system and the courts in America, what comes to mind? Do you view them as part of the government, there to do the government’s bidding? Or do you view them as a bulwark to government overreach? Are the courts political? Should they be? Should you be able to determine which political agenda is being catered to by the judge hearing the case? Or should judges be seen as neutral; decisions based solely on the facts of the case and the letter of the law?

The court system in America, although a branch of the government, should in fact be politically neutral with the sole objective of protecting the rights of the people. The business of running a country is complicated and has only become more so as time and technology has progressed. Citizens cannot possibly be expected to follow the intricate details of all the different laws, regulations, orders that are necessary for a properly functioning modern government. Thus, it is necessary to have a branch of government devoted to overseeing that the intricacies of these laws, regulations, and orders do not infringe upon the rights of the citizens, all citizens. As such politics should have no bearing on the outcomes of cases.

I imagine most would agree with the sentiment that politics should not influence the outcome of a case. However, this is obviously easier said than done. For example, look at the current Supreme Court, which has been blatantly politicised by the Republican party. Republicans held a majority in Congress and refused to allow a vote on the nominee of a Democratic President as required. This refusal to follow correct procedure has explicitly shown that the court system in America is treated more as an extension of a political party, instead of a neutral arbitrator of justice and barrier to government overreach. Unfortunately, allowing politics to invade the system only serves the purpose of delegitimising its authority. 

The protection of rights for all citizens should be the basis of the court’s power. When the court becomes politicised, such that the rights of some are deemed superior to the rights of others, the court has lost its capacity to be a fair arbitrator of justice. Eventually the public will lose faith in its ability to serve and protect and its power will understandably crumble. The system will grow even more corrupt until its very purpose (to protect the people from government overreach) is completely disregarded. Instead the courts will be used to enforce the power of the political party in power, disregarding the freedoms, rights, and laws that previously would have checked and balanced the system. Remaining politically neutral is a necessity for a valid, legitimate legal system.

All citizens should be outraged when a political party tries to highjack the courts. And it should not be ridiculous to expect judges to be neutral arbitrators of justice instead of partisan hacks. Only when judges are neutral arbitrators of justice will there be a guarantee that the government can not strip away the rights of the people. There is a reason Lady Justice is depicted with a blindfold; justice should always be blind and as such it should never depend upon which political party is in power as to what rights will be guaranteed by the courts.