Obama Chooses a New Supreme Court Judge

Judge John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court announced his retirement, as Turkey debates how to choose members for legal institutions such as the Turkish Constitutional Court and the Judges and Prosecutors Higher Council (HSYK).

Obama will be appointing Justice Stevens’ replacement. The president will determine the new member of the U.S. Supreme Court (referred to as the Constitutional Court in Turkey), as is currently being demanded in the Turkish constitutional amendment. However, the truth of the matter is different. The method can be similar, but the essence is not. Even the supposed sovereign president has to abide by common laws in the U.S. Yet, for a system to be called a democracy, the democratic spirit is almost as important as the laws and regulations themselves.

John Paul Stevens, who is asking for his retirement, is the oldest member of the Supreme Court. The judge, who will soon be turning 90, has for the last 10 years been the longest serving member of the court, in which membership is lost either through death or a retirement claim. Justice Stevens is also the most liberal member of the Supreme Court. In other words, he is perceived to have close ties with the Democratic Party. However, Republican President Gerald R. Ford appointed him to the court in 1975. While appointing Stevens, President Ford did not have the “his past does not matter, as long as he is one of us (as in Republican)” approach. He made sure that the (political) balance was maintained, as required by common law. As a result, for the last 35 years, Stevens had turned into one of the most trusted liberal members of the court that usually gets the blame for supporting the right wing.

Justice Stevens may be a Caucasian member of the court that has only seen 5 African American members in its entire history; however, he is the only Protestant member. The Protestant belief in the U.S. represents the majority of the population. Excluding Justice Stevens, the Supreme Court currently has 6 Catholic and 2 Jewish members. If the newly elected member is not a Protestant, the religious belief that is accepted by the majority in the U.S. will not be represented in the country’s highest court. According to Professor Geoffrey R. Stone of the University of Chicago, religion plays a much smaller role in the U.S. when compared to the first half of the 20th century. Stone argues that the possibility of a new non-Protestant member of the court will not cause any controversy (New York Times, April 9, 2010).

As far as the political analysts are concerned, religious belief will not be a determining factor and, solely for maintaining the court’s balance, President Obama will seek a new liberal member. Just as Republican Ford did, he will make such a decision in order to be respectful of common democratic law.

This article is dedicated to President Abdullah Gul, who had surpassed Ahmet Necdet Sezer (the former Turkish president) by a large margin by openly and willingly making biased appointments.