Writing to the Supreme Court Again

Like many Americans, I’ve been disappointed not only by the recent decisions of our current Supreme Court, but because they are being decided by mostly conservative men who lack basic ethical standards. I was disheartened to learn this week that Trump stopped the investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing. So, we have two justices who view women as sexual playthings, three judices who lied in their confirmation hearings about Roe v. Wade being settled law, two others who take bribes, and others who repeatedly fail to recuse themselves when they have a clear conflict of interest in a case before the court.

My disappointment became outrage this week and so I sat down to write a letter to Chief Justice Roberts to express my lack of confidence in the highest court in our country because of their blatant lack of ethics and their dangerous recent decisions. I share my angry letter with the hope that my readers will be inspired to write their own letters. While we still have a democracy, our opinions do matter, and this Court needs to hear our collective demand for change.

October 15, 2024

Dear Justice Roberts,

I’m sad to admit that I have lost all respect and confidence in the Supreme Court.  As an African American grandmother, I am aware that the court has had a history of making decisions that adhere to societal prejudices against women and people of color as opposed to the statements on equally found in our Constitution.  At least those past poor decisions were not bought and paid for by billionaires.

I no longer trust this Court’s majority members because three of them lied during their confirmation hearings regarding Roe versus Wade being settled law.  Two of them were accused of sexual misconduct.  I especially cannot trust the rulings of members who take bribes and refuse to recuse themselves when a conflict of interest is evident.  Your majority Court is unethical, immoral, out of touch, and lacks credibility.

I watched in horror when you delayed the ruling on presidential immunity, and I cried when I heard your unbelievable decision. I have always been a law-abiding citizen of this country and have expected that no person is able to break the law without being accountable.  The fact that this Court has granted a president the right to take bribes, kill his enemies, and defraud the American people without consequence under cover of the Office is impossible for me to accept.

I’m not sure where this leaves us as a nation of laws.  I’m not sure that our country is now safe from an unethical and immoral president who is determined to harm fellow citizens for his or her own benefit. 

Your decisions weaken voting rights, women’s rights, and protections of our air and water leaving my grandchildren in danger of living in uninhabitable mayhem, absent the rule of law, vulnerable to senseless maternal death, and powerless to express their will through free and fair elections.  I predict young people will eventually take matters into their own hands and will ignore your rulings and perhaps utilize the assault weapons you allow to express their displeasure more often. This is the country you and your conservative Court have handed us. Do right by us while there is time.

Sincerely,

Dr. Juanita Hall

Disappointed U.S. Citizen