Justice O'Connor is putting together a video game about the judiciary and how it works.
"We hear a great deal about judges who are activists -- godless, secular, humanists trying to impose their will on the rest of us," she said. "Now I always thought an activist judge was one who got up in the morning and went to work."
This is way awesome.
She said the only way to preserve an independent judiciary was through public education, which she said was failing to produce citizens with enough knowledge about the three branches of U.S. government -- legislative, executive and judicial.
The Our Courts project will have two parts, O'Connor said. The first is on online interactive civics program designed to be used by children from 7th to 9th grades either to supplement existing courses or as a distinct unit in the curriculum.
Justice O'Connor is a lawyer friend of mine's hero. I am a little bit more of a Justice Brennan fan when it comes to the judiciary, but I have to say that O'Conner seems really wonderful and I was forever changed by the New York Times article from last year where she was so understanding and strong and mature and decent about the fact that her Alzheimer's-patient husband has a girlfriend in the ward because he can no longer remember his marriage to O'Connor*.
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*She gave up a seat on the Supreme Court to spend more time with him, and yet she's so amazing about the whole situation. I'm seriously tearing up a bit now just thinking about it. John Edwards, I realize that if you're reading this, you no longer consider me a reasonable candidate for president. The feeling is mutual.
5 comments:
My favorite justice is still William O. Douglas, although Holmes and Taft get UU sympathy votes.
Trees deserve standing!
I had a very hard time explaining to one legal journalist the difference between the good and the bad ways to cover that story.
I read your post and the links you provided. The AbovetheLaw headline really was awful, and it fascinates me that even the commenters thought so. (Abovethelaw.com commenters are basically fratboys, for those who don't know.)
I think the human interest angle to legal folks in undeniable. O'Connor's having stated that takign care of her husband was one of her reasons for stepping down from the court takes a situation that was sad and makes it one of the saddest things I've ever heard.
But at the same time, yeah, some appalling tackiness came from covering it that way.
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Though O'Connor's philosophy is not mine... I've always felt that she was a pretty decent human being. Her actions with regards to her husband only affirmed that.
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