I saw justice on TV once!

Scales of Justice often lean wrong way for Indians
By Native Sun News Editorial Board
www.nsweekly.com

With the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia the Republican controlled House and Senate has decided to deny President Obama his Constitutional responsibility for appointing a replacement for the conservative judge.

It is a shame that laws and justice are too often determined on a partisan political basis rather than the scales of impartial justice.

Justice is often depicted by Lady Justice or Justitia (Roman) wearing a blindfold for fairness and truth, carrying a scale which depicts the weighing of evidence, and pointing a sword downward to convey punishment.

But Congress and each president responsible for appointing judges to the U. S. Supreme Court have found it necessary to appoint justices from their own party. For instance a Democratic appointment is always considered to be a justice with a liberal slant and a Republican appointee must have a conservative slant. Is that any depiction of justice?

If the world was a fair place any judge appointed to the Supreme Court should not belong to any political party. He or she should be appointed on their knowledge of the law and their ability to be fair. A law that would impact all of America should never be determined on whether it is liberal or conservative but only if it is just.

Native Americans have too often been at the bottom of the heap when it came to justice by the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Rehnquist, a conservative judge, when told that a couple of Indian cases would be on the agenda referred to them as “Shit cases.”

Without ever hearing the cases he immediately dismissed the Indian cases as unworthy of his court. What a farce? Indians have suffered more and lost more at the hands of the Supreme Court than any ethnic minority ever in the history of America.

Since justice is never balanced but instead is based upon politics it is no wonder that Native Americans are pulling for President Obama to push the agenda for a Supreme Court nominee NOW!

In the end a ruling that can take away the sovereignty of all Indian Nations is hanging by just one vote.

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(The Editorial Board of NSN can be reached at editor@nsweekly.com)

Copyright permission Native Sun News