KT edit: Will justice be done to Supreme Court vacancy in the US?

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This vacancy might be the most consequential, one that could affect not only the present American society now but the future ones too

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Published: Sun 20 Sep 2020, 9:34 AM

Last updated: Sun 20 Sep 2020, 11:37 AM


Ruth Ginsburg was a scathing dissenter on a conservative-tilting bench in the US Supreme Court. She was an icon of women's rights and revered by conservatives and liberals alike. Her death at 87 because of cancer is a reminder of how gender diversity can make a difference to the country's judicial system, and bring a different perspective to issues of social importance. She was a higher judge who had turned dissent into victory on various issues and upheld the rights of women. In the US, which is the world's oldest democracy but is yet to see a woman president, she was the second woman judge in the Supreme Court, and her lifetime is a celebration of the undying spirit of perseverance and grit. Her passing less than two months before the presidential elections is unfolding a fierce battle over filling up of the vacancy. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell has already hinted at putting President Trump's Supreme Court nominee to a vote, even as the precedent dictates that a successor should be chosen only after the presidential election, which this year is on November 3. But politics is paramount in the election season. 
The Donald Trump administration would be keen to appoint a jurist before November, which will be a third for the administration, so as to entrench a 6-3 conservative majority in the Supreme Court. Another Supreme Court appointee by conservatives could give them control over key decisions for decades to come. Besides, the new appointee may be in a position to swing the outcome of the election if the results in the key states are contested in the courts, a scenario that cannot be discounted at the moment. Justices in the US can serve for life, unless they decide to retire. The National Public Radio in the US has reported that Ginsburg had made her desire clear in the days before her death of not being "replaced until a new president is installed". But will her wish be honoured is doubtful as political manoeuvrings have already started. President Trump has tweeted: "We have this obligation, without delay!", while Joe Biden tweeted: "Let me be clear: The voters should pick a President, and that President should select a successor to Justice Ginsburg." This vacancy might be the most consequential, one that could affect not only the present American society now but the future ones too.
 


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