Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist used his year end report to address concerns about so-called activist judges and Congress' move to strip judges of authority and lifetime tenure.
Writing the report from his home where he continues to recover from thyroid cancer, the 80 year old jurist notes that lifetime appointments insulate judges from influence and pressure from their appointees.
"It is not a perfect system. Vacancies do not occur on regular schedules, and judges do not always decide cases the way their appointers might have anticipated. But for over 200 years it has served our democracy well and ensured a commitment to the rule of law," Rehnquist said.
While there is no timetable for Chief Justice Rehnquist to return to the Court, he has said that he will swear in President Bush for his second term.
The Sun News | 01/01/2005 | Chief justice defends judges' lifetime terms in his year-end report
No comments:
Post a Comment