Public Comment

Questions for Supreme Court Nominees

Christy Straub

Friday February 24, 2017 - 03:40:00 PM

The difference between an excellent judge and an appropriate Supreme Court nominee may well be her/his understanding and willingness to support our Constitution.

All Judges before the Congress will be excellent judges with acclaimed written theses and decisions. However, the Supreme Court is designate to check all such Judges for Constitutionality in decisions and the Congress is tasked to determine whether personal beliefs of nominees may conflict with full application of the Constitution to cases upon appeal from all courts and from all the many qualified judges throughout this nation.

Thus the following questions must be answered in the affirmative and demonstrably supported in actions, included philosophical theses to confirm appropriately nominations to the Supreme Court.

Do you believe in separation of Church from State?
Do you support freedom and equal rights for every citizen without exception?
Do you believe that when an individual belief conflicts with freedoms and equal rights for every citizen, exercise of that individual belief is limited by its infringement on rights of the whole?

(For example, the right of the individual’s exercise of religious belief in prayer may not take priority over another’s right not to pray. The solution is recognition of an individual’s right to pray privately or individually in public, but not to require others to pray.

Another example is the conflict between a religion-based KKK belief in white superiority, a discrimination based on color and supported by their churches and their faith.

The solution was recognition that despite an individual’s private right to believe in superiority, everyone is guaranteed free and equal access to churches and any other public offerings.

Another example is a woman’s belief that abortion is amoral, another faith-based belief that conflicts with another woman’s belief that abortion should be an individual decision. The solution again is that the rights of every woman to choose for herself must be recognized over the individual right to believe otherwise personally. Thus choice is recognized by Roe v Wade, as the Constitutional resolution to allow each woman’s right to her individual belief regarding the morality or necessity of abortion, and the free exercise of each individual’s belief without infringing on another’s belief.