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| Friday, January 27, 2006 |
| Enough already with the Constitution worship. Yes, Alito, that means you too |
Felix Rohatyn, former ambassador to France, has an op/ed in yesterday's NYT noting that during his term, the most striking disagreement he heard about between Europe and the U.S. was on the subject of the death penalty. He notes that all European countries have abolished it (good for them).
He also brings up the case last year in which the U.S. Supreme Court abolished the DP for juveniles, with Justice Kennedy citing Europe in his majority opinion. Scalia and Thomas were outraged that the U.S. would demeen itself by looking to other countries as guidance.
Silly Justice Kennedy... how outrageous to think that modern people in another country could be more relevant today than our God-like 200 year old document.
"That our understanding of the Constitution does change from time to time has been settled since John Marshall breathed life into its text," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote last year, concurring with Justice Kennedy. Taking the views of 450 million Europeans into account is not a sign of weakness on our part, nor is it a commitment to change our views. It is simply recognition that the laws of our most important allies, our biggest foreign investors, foreign employers, foreign customers and trading partners are worthy of our attention. That is a sign of enlightenment. |
posted by CB @ 10:07 AM   |
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