by Robert Hamm

Created on: June 02, 2009   Last Updated: June 07, 2009

We hear a lot of talk about how the Supreme Court should represent the make up of our country. About how for too long its been dominated by old white men. This is a load of bull, promoted by people who don't understand the purpose of the court to begin with.

The Court was never meant to be representative of the country's population. We elect representatives to congress, not appoint them to the court. It's not a Justice's job to rule based upon the views and beliefs of the Americans. It's the job of our representatives to make law based upon the views and beliefs of the American people. The Court's job is to ensure those laws are constitutional and then to interpret those laws in a way that gives guidance to lower courts.

A person's knowledge of law, their ability to apply it fairly in the real world and to explain the law and their rulings, are the only criteria that should be considered when choosing a Supreme Court Justice. They are not there to twist the law to better fit an ethinic or gender based point of view. They are there to interpret the law unbiased by their race, creed or gender.

Whether a new appointee is an old white man, a Hispanic women or a Chinese transvestite, shouldn't determine how they rule on any particular case. Only their knowledge of the law and their judicial reasoning should factor into the decisions they make. The same rule should apply to the selection of a new justice.

Whenever a woman or a minority steps down from the court, there always seems to be those who think those seats should be reserved for someone of like race or gender. Whenever one of "the old white guys" retires, there is always pressure to "diversify" the court, by selecting a woman or minority or both. Affirmitative action is something I disagree with and I don't see how anyone can justify an affirmative action policy, when it comes to selecting the members highest court in the land.

New Supreme Court Justices should be selected because they are among the best legal minds in the country. Not to shore up a presidents support among a demographic. By all accounts, Sottomayor is a qualified legal expert. I hope this is true, because the day we start appointing unqualified people, be they white, black, Latin or Asian, just so the court "looks" more like the rest of the country, is the day the court starts becoming a joke and will bring us one step closer to the end of our country.

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