Blog Number 11
Hello and Happy Sunny Sunday. I am thankful to have woken up and gotten to see this lovely day. I say that prayer every day on my way to work. Imagine how much better it is on a day off, lol. But another thing I am grateful for is my friends and creators on social media. I don’t personally know any of the creators but my friends send me their content in a steady stream and I thank them for that. I recently saw a video by a Massachusetts Senator. He talked about Robert Bork as a Supreme Court nominee. He warned about the dangers this man espoused in his “Originalists” views. He went on to list the things that Bork would support. The list includes: banning and subsequent back alley abortions, rogue police brutality, power and abuse, segregated lunch counters, school curriculum censorship in favor of theocracy. That last line was a very important and was filled with powerful references forcing me to attempt to use a colon grammatically. The senator gave this speech in 1987. Many of the things he warned about are in our news feeds present day. Although Bork (A Reagan nominee) was rejected, we now have 6 justices who share his beliefs. They call themselves Strict Interpretationists rather than Originalists but they are the same. If it is not written in the Constitution it should not exist as a right.
I feel like I talk about the Constitution a lot but here is why. Remember that the Constitution was written in 1787. That was 235 years ago. Many of the framers and signers were slave owners. Blacks were considered chattel and were not referred to as full human beings. Women were not represented or even recognized as having the right to vote because they didn’t. So, in my mind making decisions on that ancient document does not square with current issues. This realization was hard for me to admit, because being a zealous law student and lawyer I was weaned on the Constitution. When I saw a copy of it in the Archives in Washington DC I was in reverence. I remember leaving law school one night and getting a ticket while driving because I had just been blown away by the Con Law final I had just taken. I was still thinking about the exam and was driving while distracted through Cleveland Heights, an area with known heavy Police surveillance. Law school emphasizes the greatness of this document and teaches how all laws are subject to its foundation. It is taught as the Holy Grail and the Law of the Land. They taught that it was written so brilliantly that it was predictive and relevant for future generations. But, I see that as a black woman living in the US my special circumstances were never thought of when this document was written. Neither were the needs of Black Clarence Thomas. Nor were the needs of Female Amy Cunty Barrett. Big Digression. But the Senator was on point with his predictions about Bork and his effect. Unfortunately his words have become predictive of the Supreme Court we have today. By the way, the Senator was Ted Kennedy. Despite his philandering and careless personal life, he was bright and articulate.
Law school also taught us that we as lawyers would probably never practice in the Supreme Court. They said that we would likely practice locally in whatever area we became the most competent. This was true for most of us. I ended up in Criminal and Family law. I have a personal preference for them and those involved therein. However the need to stay on top of the Constitutional law is more important than ever. Understanding the HISTORY of this country and constitutional law go hand in hand. You cannot dive into one without the other.
I think it is important to know history so we don’t have to repeat it. It wasn’t that great the first time.
G’Day all!
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