大法官巴雷特是一位宪法原始主义(originalism)者,即按宪法原始意义解释判断案例,她在宣誓就职仪式上发表的讲话反复强调了这一点。她在发言即将结束时说:“...... My fellow Americans, even though we judges don’t face elections, we still work for you. It is your Constitution that establishes the rule of law and the judicial independence that is so central to it. The oath that I have solemnly taken tonight means at its core that I will do my job without any fear or favor and that I will do so independently of both the political branches and of my own preferences ...... ”(大意为:“。。。我的美国同胞们,尽管我们法官不会面临选举,但我们仍然为你们工作。正是你们的宪法确立了法治和司法独立,这对宪法至关重要。我今晚庄严宣誓,其核心是,我将毫无畏惧、毫不偏袒、独立地履行我的职责,不受政治派别与我个人偏好的影响。。。”)。
真好,美国最高法院变成了共和党控制的微型众议院,这种格局至少持续20年? 问题是,但当人们能准确地预测最高法院的判决后,最高法院就变得 irrelevant 了,就如中国的"人民代表大会",使共和党的橡皮图章。
Unless John Reberts does something, and he will.