To the Editor:

The decisions of the United States Supreme Court in the term just ended clearly illustrate the significant damage done to the court by Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.

The nominations of the conservative Clarence Thomas, John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr. and their confirmation have now borne the bitter fruit that has been widely predicted as evidenced by the latest hard right turn from the bench.

As comparatively young men, these justices will determine the future of justice in America for many years to come.

The conservative cause may be in shreds because of the war, the failures of the Bush administration and the Washington legislative scandals, but after the ballots are counted in 2008, the decisions of these members of the court will continue to affect all of us.

It may be a long time before the damage to the court and our justice system can be undone.

Burton Kreindel
Newton, Mass., June 29, 2007

Note from KBJ: What we have is something progressives hate: a law-abiding, Constitution-respecting Supreme Court, a Court that does not sit as a superlegislature, engineering society in accordance with a progressive blueprint. As much as I disagree with President Bush on issues such as Iraq (I’ve argued for more than three years that, having removed Saddam Hussein from power, we should have gotten out) and immigration, I am grateful that he has nominated law-abiding justices. May we get at least one more before his term ends.