Was the Warren Court more influential than the Presidency?

[InkL0sed]

Think about it... what things that Kennedy, Nixon, Eisenhower, or LBJ do we still feel directly the effects of today? Not much. Only thing I can think of right now is LBJ's Civil Rights Act, really... and I guess getting rid of the gold standard.

On the other hand, the Warren Court:

• Established the right to an attorney
• Incorporated much of the bill of rights to the states
• Established the Miranda rights
• Established the idea of a right to privacy, leading to Roe v. Wade, among other things
• Desegregated the schools, declaring segregation illegal (although it took LBJ to actually end it)
• Banned flag salutes and prayer in schools

So yeah. Hugo Black & Earl Warren > most Presidents

[pimpdave]

Shut up InkL0sed, we all know that Downtown President Brown was more influential than any of those losers.

[InkL0sed]

no u

[Shivas]

That's something to think about. But I like to think of the Supreme Court as the branch of government that functions as guardian and interpreter of
the Constitution. They really don't make the laws or issues, they rule if said laws and issues follow the letter of the Constitution in their eyes. Over-all I'd like to believe most of their decisions do (although some go contrary to my personal beliefs) follow the letter/intent of the Constitution. So it really goes back to the president who nominates and congress who approves each justice.

[InkL0sed]

That's something to think about. But I like to think of the Supreme Court as the branch of government that functions as guardian and interpreter of
the Constitution. They really don't make the laws or issues, they rule if said laws and issues follow the letter of the Constitution in their eyes. Over-all I'd like to believe most of their decisions do (although some go contrary to my personal beliefs) follow the letter/intent of the Constitution. So it really goes back to the president who nominates and congress who approves each justice.

There are a couple things wrong with this.

Firstly, whether or not they make law or interpret the Constitution (and a lot of people have very different opinions on that), all I'm saying is that the Warren Court was influential, which I think is undeniable. Fact is, the cases they rule on very often directly change the way things work.

Secondly, while it's true that the President nominates the Justice, and the Senate approves him/her, it's turned out that Justices have ended up ruling in ways nobody would have expected. Hugo Black, for instance, was a former member of the KKK, and yet he was probably the most liberal judge we've ever had. Nixon's appointees were disappointments for conservatives; Sandra Day O'Conner was much more moderate than Reagan expected, and Souter turned out to be ultra liberal even though Bush Sr. appointed him.

Justices have life terms, and once they're in the court, the only check to their power is that they have no way to enforce their rulings.

[Shivas]

Actually i think we're somewhat on the same page about this. I do agree with you. I put a lot of faith in the Supreme Court exactly for the reasons you mention. I find it interesting that, overall, the justices do seem to put their personal agendas on the back burner and render decisions based on their interpretation of the Constitution. Hope Obama does a good job with his nominations.

[SultanOfSurreal]

and Souter turned out to be ultra liberal even though Bush Sr. appointed him.

lol not really, more of a moderate though he does tend to vote with the liberal wing more often than not

anyway, i would like to see a supreme court like the warren court today. they are the body that is supposed to stop our constitutional rights from being trampled, remember. and that is exactly what the warren court did, and that's why we remember them.

now once thomas and that stupid motherfucker scalia get replaced, hopefully by obama appointees, we may see gay marriage become a federal, 14th amendment issue. among others. and perhaps roberts will stumblefuck his way into the history books by accidentally leading a liberal court that does some good.

[InkL0sed]

I don't know why I said Souter was ultra-liberal. I think I was comparing him to Scalia in my mind.

[SultanOfSurreal]

here's a neat thing

[bigimg]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Impeach_Warren.png[/bigimg]

("neat" being used very loosely here)

[sheepofdumb]

Who cares? lol.