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The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, William Rehnquist, succumbed to thyroid cancer on Saturday, Sept. 3.
Rehnquist, 80, had served a formidable 33 years on the bench, and was among the majority in the Bush vs. Gore verdict that ended the Florida recount and cemented President George W. Bush’s 2000 election victory. He often found himself voicing the minority opinion as well, in cases such as Texas vs. Johnson, the 1989 ruling that upheld flag burning as a constitutionally protected act. His passing has been marked with a fanfare befitting his pre-eminence in the past three-and-a-half decades of American law and politics.
Along with the gap left by recently retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Mr. Rehnquist’s vacant seat leaves two positions on the U. S. Supreme Court to be filled. A slow and often grueling process of presidential nomination and Senate confirmation will ultimately present America with two new justices.
Judge John Roberts was initially named to fill Justice O’Connor’s position, but, upon the news of Mr. Rehnquist’s death, was quickly re-appropriated as a nominee for the now-vacant seat of the Chief Justice.
A Senate confirmation is typically the most spectacular, and often pyrotechnic, aspect of parliamentary procedure. However, while reports of these upcoming confirmation battles fill news and opinion pages for the next few months, it is important not to forget what is at stake.
Tragically, there is no group of people more likely to commit such an error than college students. Our endemically apathetic generation, unable to amass a greater than 20 percent voter turnout in recent elections, will likely greet the appointment of new Supreme Court Justices with little interest, but the events of the next few months will be of grave and lasting importance.
Judge John Roberts is a relatively young nominee for the bench at less than 50 years old. Were he to be appointed, an incoming U of L freshman would likely be 50 himself by the time of Roberts’ retirement.
In that time, Judge Roberts would have a substantial effect on our country’s stance on privacy rights, property control, abortion, the death penalty and assisted suicide. Moreover, he would be the face of judicial authority in America, potentially for decades.
Most college students will predictably mark the appointment of two new Supreme Court justices with characteristic indifference, and then complain about the outcome for the rest of their lives.
