GAVEL GAMUT
By Jim Redwine
www.jamesmredwine.com
(Week of 17 June 2024)
GET OUT OF THE GUTTER
Lauren Windsor is a conservative Christian who is anti-abortion. That is what she told Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito on June 03, 2024 in statements she made to him at a private gathering of the Supreme Court Historical Society. We know she stands for these principles because she recorded herself saying so then released an edited version of her recording to the Rolling Stone magazine. Of course, she is an admitted, known liar, so who knows what she believes.
Windsor was attempting to sleazily trap Justice Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts during private conversations. Windsor did not inform the justices she was recording them nor did she disclose her true purpose which was to embarrass the Court and maybe get the justices to recuse in cases she cared about.
It turned out neither Alito nor Roberts said anything of significance that might pressure them to avoid ruling on future cases. On the other hand, Windsor should be excommunicated from the Fourth Estate for shaming herself and her vocation.
Gentle Reader, if you have followed this column over its thirty-four years you know I have my issues with our Supreme Court. Just as you, I have never had the opportunity to vote for or against anyone on the Supreme Court. You may recall I have repeatedly written that all federal judges should be selected by the public, have strict term limits and be subject to the same type of judicial ethical boundaries as I as a judge have been for over forty years. I have no brief for an imperial court at any level. However, gutter-type tactics used to ensnare anyone, including judges, are debasing to our system of justice and an affront to journalism.
If one wants to know what a Supreme Court justice really thinks, read their numerous decisions! They are published each term of court and a matter of public record. Justice Alito has been on the Court since 2006 and Chief Justice Roberts has been on the Court since 2005. Each of them has signed on to countless decisions and has dissented in many others. If we want to know how they think, all we need to do is read the public record. There is no call for pulp fiction.
For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com
