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Category: Constitutional Rights Content: Statement of National Social Justice Groups - July 15, We, the undersigned American Jewish organizations, devoted to civil rights and social justice advocacy, impelled by the core teachings of our ancient tradition, call upon the President of the United States to nominate, and the Senate to fully advise and confirm, new Supreme Court Justices who will strive for consensus, working to avoid deepening the widening divisions in this country.. We call upon the President and the Senate to acknowledge that the Supreme Court’s proper role in interpreting and enforcing our Constitution, requires consideration of the rights of minorities, the poor, the disadvantaged, the outcast and the victim, as well as of the prerogatives of the majority. We call upon them to recognize that a Justice who seeks consensus must seek to balance the will of those in power against the objections of the powerless. We ask that all citizens join with us in affirming that Supreme Court Justices must properly recognize that the duties of fair governance apply equally to all, and that the next nominees must be seen as representing all the people of this country. Our Jewish tradition recognizes that the well-being of a society depends largely on the strength of its legal system. Among the first commands that G-d gives the Jewish people when they prepare to establish a new society in the land of Israel is “Appoint judges and chiefs in all of your dwellings. . . and they shall govern the people with due justice.” (Deuteronomy 16:18) The rabbinic tradition understands the term “due justice” as a requirement to appoint fair judges (Sifrei Devarim Shofetim) and even goes so far as to compare appointing an inappropriate judge to spreading idol worship, considered the root of all evil behavior, among the people. (Talmud Sanhedrin 7b) In contrast, according to the rabbis “all who judge faithfully are considered as partners with God in creation.” (Talmud Shabbat 10a) It is the great invention of the American constitutional system that there is a judicial branch, insulated by lifetime appointment from the partisan political passions of the moment, which sets the constitutional limits of action by the executive and legislative branches. To discharge that duty requires judges of high intellectual attainment, independent judgment, and a commitment to precedent rather than judges committed to the doctrinaire views of right or left. While over long periods, the law may develop to reflect societal change and new insights, the law of the land ought not to fluctuate with what judges occupy the bench at any particular time. The appointment to the Supreme Court of someone whose fidelity to this principle is outweighed by a commitment to a particular ideology would undermine the Court’s role as an independent forum interpreting the high ideals of the Constitution Nominees, who advance the agenda of a strident minority, whether of the right or left, will not serve our country. Rather, we need, in the words of Moses Maimonides, judges who have “wisdom, humility, reverence, hatred of money, love of truth, love of humanity, and a good reputation.” (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Sanhedrin 2:7) A partisan judge will make larger and more intractable the harmful divisions that already divide our nation. Now, rather, is the time to build upon our shared values. America needs Justices who will: Protect the free exercise of religious expression and belief while ensuring that government represents and respects all citizens of every religion, and of none, and endorses no particular creed; Honor the Court’s precedents on the rights of privacy, gender equality, and individual self-determination, whether in medical treatment and research or elsewhere; Defend our fundamental principles of due process to the accused and the humane treatment of prisoners while recognizing our security concerns; Ensure that the work place and its products are humane and safe, that competition is fair, and that the economy as a whole works to provide all of us with real opportunity while acknowledging the virtues of free enterprise; Sustain the right of the community to provide housing for all, to promote economic development, and to protect the environment while recognizing the legitimate rights of property owners; Preserve the essential central unity and power of the national government that guarantees security and fundamental rights to all while allowing states their freedoms and perquisites; Look first to the settled principles of law, respecting the great American tradition of judicial reasoning, and not first to their personal faith or political viewpoint; Understand that our Constitution lives and grows, and is not revealed immutably and for all time to the devotees of any one interpretive faction. Each nominees should demonstrate, by her or his records, a dedication to forging the widest possible agreement, consistent with history, reason and law, rather than one of partisan advocacy for any group or ideology. Only such judges can generate the broad acceptance and approval necessary to help calm, and not worsen, tensions among competing interests, and craft resolutions that can become settled law because they are most widely proclaimed judicious. Our traditions of dedication to the community, and especially to its most vulnerable members; of the recognition of the rights and concerns of others; and of the sacred value of human life, require that we make our voices heard at a time when the risk of divisiveness is great. Even as we speak out of our own Jewish traditions, we reaffirm our faith in the moral center of others who have different traditions and assert that our country is one that fully achieves its greatness only by so recognizing each individual. We call for the nomination of Justices who share this belief in the value of diversity and will forsake the partisanship of those who seek to overthrow the precious interplay of checks and balances that makes our system of government unique, and uniquely suited to the diversity which is America. The stakes could not be higher. The very rights that have made America the envy of the world are at stake. We have an obligation to insist on Supreme Court Justices committed to the principles we outline above. If, after a careful and searching review, we conclude, however reluctantly, that the President’s nominees do not meet that criteria, we will oppose such nominees, and we will make doing so an utmost priority. We cannot afford to stay on the sidelines. We would prefer, as we have said, consensus candidates; we are, however, prepared to work to defeat those who are not committed to protecting fundamental rights. Signed: Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (Boston) Jewish Community Action (Minneapolis/St. Paul) Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (Chicago) Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (New York) Progressive Jewish Alliance (Los Angeles/San Francisco) Religious Action Center of the Union of Reform Judaism (National) The Shalom Center (National) signatures as of July 19, 2005