What the US (not so) Supreme Court Should Learn From the Rest of the World
What the US (not so) Supreme Court Should Learn From the Rest of the World
Matt Bernardini on where America's justice system has gone so badly wrong
When the highest court in your country dominates the news cycle, it’s usually not a good thing. Such has been the case recently in the United States, where the Supreme Court’s decisions, and its justices, have caused outrage and spurred discussion about much needed reforms.
Last year, the Supreme Court overturned 50 years of precedent and restricted abortion rights for millions of women. The decision to restrict a large group of people of their rights was unfortunately not an outlier, but just the beginning.
Just recently the court came down with two more disastrous decisions. In one case, the Conservative justices ruled that private businesses can refuse to make wedding websites for gay couples. The decision essentially opens up the door for businesses to refuse service to individuals on the basis of their “religion.” However, what’s even worse is that the entire case appears to have been fabricated. The man who supposedly requested that the business owner make the website, has said that he never made the request, and he has been married to a woman for 13 years.
That same day, the court sentenced more than 40 million Americans to more debt, when it struck down President Joe Biden’s milquetoast student loan forgiveness law. This group of unelected justices just told many Americans they can’t even get $10,000 in debt cancellation.
These decisions come after ProPublica has revealed that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito took secret trips with billionaires, and then failed to report them. Not coincidentally, those same billionaires have also had cases before the court.
The egregiousness of these scandals and decisions means the time has come for the U.S. government to seriously take a look at restricting the court’s powers. Here are the measures they should consider, and the countries they should takethem from.
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