Supreme Court Decisions
David O’Brien’s column on the current Supreme Court (“Holding the Center,” Opinion, March 8) was extremely revealing. I suspected we were in trouble after reading the excellent article on Chief Justice Rehnquist in the Los Angeles Times Magazine last September; now I know we are.
The fact that Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, in their minority opinion, wrote that beating a manacled prisoner does not violate the 8th Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment” confirms once and for all the fact that these Reagan/Bush appointees are far-right ideological Neanderthals. Unfortunately, these men are appointed for life. Despite conservatives’ rhetoric to the contrary, I think we are going to see an increase in the oppressive power of big government. The Bill of Rights and the constitutional protections we Americans hold dear are in real danger.
MICHAEL BEAR
San Diego
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
