Current Event of November 28, 2014
From The Washington Post
With the Supreme Court having five conservatives and four liberals, the next election could determine the makeup of the judicial branch of the federal government. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the Democratic justices, is the oldest member of the Supreme Court, having had a heart surgery at the age of 81. She has no plans to step down from her position before President Obama's term is over. This means that she is not guaranteed a liberal replacement. If the next leader of the United States turns out to be Republican and one of the Democratic justices retires, the number of conservatives in the court will outnumber the liberals 6-3. In contrast, if a Democrat is elected in the 2016 Presidential election and a conservative justice retires, then the liberals will gain better traction. Regardless of what happens, both parties should be concerned about the outcome of the election because it relates directly to our justice system. There will be an upset either way.
When it comes to the federal government, every aspect is connected. One of the principles that America was founded on was the separation of government into distinct branches. Checks and balances prevent there from being any funny business. Nonetheless, no matter how hard they try, the judicial, legislative, and executive branches become dependent on one another. In the case of the Supreme Court, the president is only meant to have the power of appointing justices. It just so happens that the next person to be given the job could influence the entire branch by tipping the scale, making the courts either conservatively or liberally dominated. It does not seem like a big deal at first, but major court cases are brought to the Supreme Court and their decisions have a huge say in what happens in this country. By giving the President the power to choose, the courts are now in the hands of the executive branch.
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