• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom®

ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom®

religious liberty and religious freedom news

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Articles
  • Podcast
Home » Doug Kmiec on a Court Packed with Catholics (Wall Street Journal)

Doug Kmiec on a Court Packed with Catholics (Wall Street Journal)

June 1, 2009 by Michael Peabody

If Judge Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed by the United States Senate, she will be the 6th Catholic among the 9 United States Supreme Court justices. Doug Kmiec, my constitutional law professor in the area of the Bill of Rights at Pepperdine University, discusses what this will mean in a recent interview with Suzanne Sataline of the Wall Street Journal .  Kmiec is a former White House adviser under both President Reagan and the first President Bush and a devout Roman Catholic.   Michael Peabody, Editor RLTV

EXCERPT:

Hi Professor Kmeic. So what will be the impact of having Catholics comprise two-thirds of the justices on the Supreme Court?

The Catholic understanding is that the nature of the office has to be respected and the judicial office . . . should not be a policy making position and the church does not assume it is . . . . It would be an entirely improper criticism for any churchman to make of Judge Sotomayor that she needs to rule in a way that is dictated by the faith. She is to follow the law as it is given to her and that is the oath she takes.

…

In what sorts of cases can we see those beliefs in action?

[Kmiec said he’s read about 50 or 100 of her rulings, perhaps a quarter of her authored opinions.] She does seem to be particularly sensitive to freedom of religion issues. She protected inmates in prison, for instance, who asked to have their faith traditions accommodated.

Read the full article at http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/05/27/doug-kmiec-on-a-court-packed-with-catholics/

Filed Under: Constitution, Current Events, Supreme Court Tagged With: Douglas Kmiec, Sonia Sotomayor, Suzanne Sataline

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    July 7, 2009 at 7:15 pm

    I had a great comment and forgot to hit submit! So here it is again.

    It would be my hope that a supreme court justice would make rulings based on Constitutional Law and not on their religious beliefs. I would hope that a justice would not try to infuse their rulings with the religious values and traditions of their upbringing but instead interpret the Constitution as it stands. That is how we will remain a free country. With that said, I also don’t think it would be fair to disqualify a nominee because of their religious background. They should also be judged on the merit of previous rulings in lower courts.

    Again, I can’t believe I forgot to hit the submit comment button. My first attempt at leaving my thoughts was much more eloquent!

    Thanks for causing me to think about this issue.
    Lisa

  2. Lisa says

    July 7, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    I had a great comment and forgot to hit submit! So here it is again.

    It would be my hope that a supreme court justice would make rulings based on Constitutional Law and not on their religious beliefs. I would hope that a justice would not try to infuse their rulings with the religious values and traditions of their upbringing but instead interpret the Constitution as it stands. That is how we will remain a free country. With that said, I also don’t think it would be fair to disqualify a nominee because of their religious background. They should also be judged on the merit of previous rulings in lower courts.

    Again, I can’t believe I forgot to hit the submit comment button. My first attempt at leaving my thoughts was much more eloquent!

    Thanks for causing me to think about this issue.
    Lisa

Primary Sidebar

Geneva, Switzerland - December 03, 2019: World Health Organization (WHO / OMS) Headquarters - DepositPhotos.com

Biden admin could hand over US control of health emergencies to WHO next week

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The ultimate control over America’s health care and its national sovereignty will be put up for a vote next week at a meeting of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) governing legislative body, the World Health Assembly (WHA).  On May 22-28, 2022, the 75th World Health Assembly will convene at the United Nations […]

Statement on the Leak in Dobbs

The leak was intended to disrupt the processing of the decision and we are not going to dignify the leak or the unidentified leaker by analyzing it prematurely. As a constitutional republic we cannot go down that road without doing severe damage to the institution of the Supreme Court where there must be professional courtesy between the justices and their staffs.

Boston City Hall - photo from Supreme Court Opinion

Supreme Court rules 9-0 that Boston violated 1st Amendment in refusing Christian flag at City Hall

This morning the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Shurtleff v. Boston (Dec’d 5/2/2022) that the city of Boston violated the free speech rights of a Christian group when it refused to allow them to participate in a city flag raising program.

Active Liberty - a survey of Justice Stephen Breyer's religion clause jurisprudence - Supreme Court

Active Liberty: A Survey of Justice Stephen Breyer’s Religion Clause Decisions

A comprehensive review of retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s decisions in Free Exercise and Establishment Clause cases.

Canadian gov’t calculates that expansion of assisted suicide will save taxpayers millions of dollars

In Canada, it is easier for the disabled who do not suffer terminal illness to get approval for assisted suicide than approval for affordable housing. The government has calculated the cost of providing healthcare versus providing assisted suicide.

Random Quote

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

— Ronald Reagan

Get the ReligiousLiberty.TV Newsletter!

Comes out a couple of times a month. Unsubscribe anytime automatically, no questions asked.
* = required field
unsubscribe from list

powered by MailChimp!

Copyright © 2022 Founders' First Freedom is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Articles
  • Podcast
0
0
0
0