September 14, 2022John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543RE: Loss of Legitimacy
You have stated your concern about loss of faith in legitimacy of the Supreme Court. Your concern is justified. A recent Quinnipiac poll found 62% of respondents believe Supreme Court Justices are now motivated more by politics than law.
Supreme Court legitimacy is based on the belief decisions will be based on a rational apolitical interpretation of The Constitution of the United States of America. Distrust is a logical outcome given the way Supreme Court Justices are chosen. Legitimacy will always be questioned as long as the court is staffed by identifiably Republican and Democratic judges.
Judges have no control over the selection process but there is an even more divisive issue.
For a long time there has been at least one Catholic Supreme Court Judge which makes sense given about twenty percent of all Americans identify as Catholic. What is unprecedented is a Supreme Court dominated by six Federalist Society vetted Catholic judges. Appearance of religious domination is compounded by the widely held belief that the Federalist Society is closely associated with Opus Dei.
This nation was settled by pilgrims seeking economic and religious freedom. Adoption of the protestant work ethic enabled individual achievement and created prosperity. Freedom to worship as one wanted was written into The Bill of Rights in response to Anglican discrimination against Christians who worshipped in ways slightly different than themselves.
The freedom of individuals, regardless of race, religion and sex to pursue their dreams has been very good for Americans, America and the world. For example it was an immigrant married couple that invented a Covid-19 vaccine that works and the camera sending us pictures from the Webb telescope was designed and built by a husband and wife team at The University of Arizona.
Pope Francis appears to be trying to steer Catholic church leaders towards nurturance of family and charity and away from identification with divisive religious and political dogma. He has forbidden Opus Dei priests from promotion to the rank of Bishop, downgraded the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and replaced "Latin Mass Cardinals" with "Progressives". This makes sense as he personally witnessed the horror of politically inspired atrocities in Argentina.
There is often disconnect between what a speaker said and listeners heard.
According to Judge Alito reversal of Roe vs. Wade is consistent with The Constitution of the United States. What seven of ten Americans heard was six Republican Opus Dei Catholic Judges have decided to impose their personal political and religious beliefs on all Americans and soon police will be arresting women who find it impossible to carry a fetus to birth.
Please encourage Supreme Judges, and those whom they influence, to refrain from promotion of religious and politically based decisions that enflame emotion. We live in a nation of well-armed easily led angry men who came very close to ending the peaceful transition of power on January 6, 2021.
The problem is the appearance that openly political and religious judges, and at least in one case a Judges' wife, are trying to impose adherence to their personal religious and political beliefs on a citizenry that believes in separation of church and state. This may end very badly.
Sincerely,
John L. Bradley, PhD
12572 West Coronado Road
Avondale, Arizona 85392_______
Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice
Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Associate Justice
Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice
Elena Kagan, Associate Justice
Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice
Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice
Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice
Ketanji Brown Jackson, Associate Justice
2209 JLB