Terry Moran from ABC News has learned about judicial activism. Minutes after the overturning of Roe v. Wade on Friday, he derided conservative “judges in politicians’ robes.” Just in time for a ruling the left hates, Moran declared the era of the Supreme Court being “legitimate” is now over.
Breaking in to live coverage after Roe fell, Moran used swing vote John Roberts as a proxy for his own outrage: “[Roberts]He believes the Court is far too confident on the issue, and would rather wait until the next case. It is not surprising that John Roberts has lost control of the Court. However, it is notable that a justice so conservative like Roberts looks at his conservative colleagues and makes comments. That’s the judicial activism.”
Later, Moran complained again: “John Roberts is suggesting is this is an activist decision. Given the facts of the matter and the way it was brought before the Court, this decision did not need to be taken. It will be clear that it isn’t a Court of judges as such, but rather a Court of politicians wearing judges’ robes.”
Dropping the pretense of speaking as Roberts, Moran said of the initial draft decision: “Boy, this sounds very absolute and extreme. [Alito’s] tone, that Roe is egregiously wrong, that any constitutional right must be located in our country’s history and traditions.”
Closing out ABC’s live coverage, the ABC journalist ominously warned of the country’s future with such a “strongly activist court:
The old era of reaching for the centre to maintain the legitimacy of the court in the eyes and ears is gone. We now have an activist court.
Here is a portion of the transcript. Click “expand” to read more.
ABC News Special
6/24/2022
10:15DAVID MUIR: You know, it’s interesting, Terry because initially in this opinion that had been leaked, just Alito had written previously that we cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about “the public’s reaction to our work,” talking about any reaction actually to that leak or what could happen if this ruling came down, and it would seem in delivering the same opinion today, that’s exactly what they’ve done. Any potential public reaction has been ignored.
TERRY Moran: You are right, David. When the draft opinion was published, there was some doubt. This sounds extreme and absolute. Roe’s tone is so wrong that it sounds like a man who believes that every constitutional right should be found in the country’s past and tradition. Some were concerned that this could have an impact on gay marriage, and other rights not listed in the Constitution. He doesn’t seem to be able to rescind any of this. There is now a concurring Chief Justice Roberts. He agrees with the judgement. So, he does not agree with all the statements. It looks like five justices do. It is not only about overturning Roe; it also means that the whole approach to constitutional law has been reversed. Contraception is not mentioned in the Constitution. This opinion seems to open the doors to not only overruling Roe Vs. Wade but also to other rights many Americans take for granted.
…
10:28
MORAN: This case sees five conservative justices vote to overrule Roe Vs. Wade. John Roberts is the middle of the three liberal justices who oppose it. According to Roberts, he would have validated the Mississippi law. Mississippi passed legislation banning abortions within 15 weeks. According to him, that is all you need to do. You don’t have to decide that women no longer have a right to abortion, and he says, “We adhere closely to the judicial restraint here instead of repudiating a right we have previously recognized, but also expressly reaffirmed.” He says the Court is too full of certainty on this issue and he would wait for the next case to come. Although he has lost control over this Court, it is important that John Roberts, a conservative justice, looks at the actions of his conservative peers and declares that that is judicial activism.
10:30
MORAN: This is how the Supreme Court’s power comes from the faith and trust shown by the citizens. People respect the Supreme Court’s opinions. Its decisions can change because one party is able to appoint justices. This undermines trust. Justices have believed this throughout history. They should adhere to the law and canons for judicial conduct, but not in a manner that communicates to the public that they are just another political institution. Justice Breyer explicitly states, as Chief Justice John Roberts implies, that this is an active decision. It was not necessary to make this decision. Given the facts of the case and the manner it has been presented to the Court, you will see that the Court is not composed of judges but politicians dressed in judge’s robes. Stephen Breyer is advising the country.
11:17
MORAN: It is a new age where there are no more attempts to reach the center in order to preserve the court’s legitimacy. Instead, we now have an extremely conservative and activist court.
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