From: Becky Bond, CREDO Action <act@credoaction.com>
Date: Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Subject: The Voting Rights Act.
To: melissa seaver <landrightsnfarming.seamom89@gmail.com>
Dear Melissa, As one of the youngest Chief Justices appointed in U.S. history, the conservative jurist John Roberts has long been expected to leave his distinct stamp on the Supreme Court. But will his legacy be one of conservative jurisprudence or Republican judicial activism in the tradition of Jim Crow? Will his leadership be known in history books as "the Roberts Court" or "the Racist Court"? That distinction may very well hinge on how Chief Justice Roberts handles a case that has been politicized by controversial statements of Justice Antonin Scalia — statements that have shocked court viewers and sparked a rare and frank debate about the Court's role in American politics. The Supreme Court votes Friday on the fate of the Voting Rights Act, one of the most important and successful civil rights laws in our nation's history. In oral arguments this week, Justice Scalia spoke contemptuously about this legislation calling it the "perpetuation of racial entitlement" to audible gasps in the usually staid chamber. He went on to argue that Congress would essentially be incapable of rolling back the law, intimating that it was then up to the Supreme Court to throw it out and essentially usurp the legislative role. Justice Scalia has a long history of acting as a self-appointed legislator from the bench, promoting his political agenda rather than focusing on interpreting the Constitution. But Chief Justice Roberts on the other hand, while he also expressed skepticism about the Voting Rights Act, has always been clear on his court's role to defer to Congress when it comes to the democratic process and the making of laws. In an editorial titled "Justice Scalia's Contempt of Congress" the Washington Post editorial board, which is known for its conservative bent, outlined what it called Justice Scalia's "stunning line of argumentation": 1 Justice Antonin Scalia suggested that the continuation of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act represented the "perpetuation of racial entitlement," saying that lawmakers had only voted to renew the act in 2006 because there wasn't anything to be gained politically from voting against it. The Washington Post editorial concluded, "Congress is empowered to write legislation enforcing the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. But if Justice Scalia doubts the purity of lawmakers' motives, then apparently this power is limited." Following the oral arguments, Pete Williams of NBC News concluded, "I think it's safe to say there are five votes to strike down either one or both parts of the Voting Rights Act." 2 Chief Justice Roberts showed by his vote against overturning President Obama's Affordable Care Act in an election year that he is sensitive to public perception of overreach by the Supreme Court. And now, still in the shadow of an election that was marred by an outrageous and unprecedented effort by Republicans at the local, state and federal level to disenfranchise minority and low income voters, Chief Justice Roberts will be faced with managing yet another potential national crisis for his court. If enough of us can speak out and make it clear that we will hold him responsible for maintaining the credibility of the Supreme Court in the face of Justice Scalia's contemptuous and unethical political rantings, we may be able to save the Voting Rights Act for another generation. Will this court go down as one of conservative jurisprudence as Chief Justice Roberts would prefer or one of Republican judicial activism in the tradition of Jim Crow? Friday's vote will tell. Please join me in speaking out. We'll deliver your signature to Chief Justice John Roberts along with my own before the vote. Thank you for joining me in standing up for the Voting Rights Act. Becky Bond, Political Director
1. Justice Scalia's contempt of Congress, Washington Post, Feb. 27, 2013.
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