A Nation Endangered

Judge Bork Was Right: Judicial Activism is the Elite’s Ultimate Weapon

The problem of judicial activism isn’t new. It’s something that’s been going on for decades and desperately needs to be addressed more broadly. We share the frustration of many, but we hope this moment presents an opportunity to compel the Supreme Court to clarify the Executive Branch’s powers as these rulings pile up—once and for all addressing the broader issue of rogue judges undermining Republican presidents.

The idea that an unelected district judge can dictate the actions of the president is completely insane and likely won’t sit well with the Supreme Court. Judges are meant to interpret the law. Not make the law.

From our vantage point, we don’t see how the Supreme Court can afford not to address this pressing national issue. From a practical standpoint, they will be absolutely overwhelmed with appeals if they don’t address this issue relatively soon. They know it’s unconstitutional. The Executive Branch cannot be constantly undermined by a pack of activist judges. They also have to know this crisis will only get worse if they don’t do something.

There have been repeated calls for the impeachment of these judges, and although we would dearly love for this to happen, from a practical standpoint this is very difficult to do. The problem we face is the Senate. In order to proceed with a successful impeachment, we need a simple majority vote in the House—but we need two-thirds of the Senate to find the judge guilty during a trial to finalize the impeachment. This would need to be done for each of these activist judges.

Achieving a two-thirds vote with the current makeup of the Senate is all but impossible. Indeed, only 15 federal judges have been impeached since 1789, with eight judges actually convicted and removed by the Senate.

Considering the vast number of judges who have served in the federal judiciary, the removal rate—roughly 1 in 500—seems remarkably low. Judges are human, subject to the same flaws, vices, and failures as anyone else. The most recent to be removed was G. Thomas Porteous Jr. in 2010, for corruption and perjury. It’s a high bar that’s difficult to surmount.

Federal judges serve "during good behavior," per the Constitution, which effectively means a lifetime appointment for these judges unless something drastic happens. Some have argued this clause allows for an easier method of removal that would only require a simple majority in both the House and Senate—a built-in ability to bypass impeachment—but historical practice and application argues against this being a viable option: