Grievance 42 - Injustice

The U.S. Constitution was flawed in creating a Judiciary Branch of
government in which officers were selected by a political process. The
system resulted in frequent protests over alleged partisanship, unfair
and unequal treatment.

The Constitution authorized the President, a person who was the product
of partisan politics, to appoint friends and allies to positions of
exceptional power upon Senate confirmation;

Article II, Section 2: ...(shall appoint)
"Judges of the supreme Court. and
all other Officers of the United States..."

The nation's top politician could name federal court judges, U.S.
prosecuting attorneys in districts throughout the country, the Attorney
General as top federal law enforcement officer, the Director of the FBI,
and other law officers.

Democrat Presidents were accused of "stacking" the system with
appointees having a liberal bias, while Republican Presidents were
accused of naming people with a conservative bias. The Supreme Court
was itself judged by the media as being composed mostly of people with
leanings one way or the other, and it was a serious consideration for
many people in voting for President.

A showcase example of the Constitution politicizing justice was the
power of the President to pardon persons accused or convicted of crimes,
and to commute sentences single-handedly. President Richard Nixon
(1969-74), accused of "high crimes" in office, escaped justice by
appointing his personally- selected Vice President, Gerald Ford, to
succeed him as President, with Ford issuing a pardon.

The system invited political paybacks, tributes, partisanship and other
corrupt practices. One President named a person to a federal Appeals
Court bench where the individuals mother was also a sitting judge.
People who charged prejudicial treatment were caught in a web of
politically-connected officers with partisan considerations.

The federal politicized system was mimicked in state constitutions.
After 16 years of Republican governors, California's 1,500 member
judicial branch weighed heavily with former prosecutors and business
lawyers, but had little representation from consumer, labor,
environmental or low income backgrounds.

With an AUTHENTIC CONSTITUTION in harmony with the natural
Cosmic Laws of the universe, and producing High Moral Values and
Democratic Ideals, selection of Judicial Branch officers is based solely on merit.

Back