It’s apparent that letter-writer Katie Forsythe thinks our country should be run based on public opinion polls and that courts, including the Supreme Court, should follow the polls when making their rulings (“Partisan Supreme Court is restricting our freedoms,” July 6, TribLIVE). If our government were to operate according to public opinion polls, Joe Biden (36% approval) would be in the midst of being removed from office and Congress (7% approval) would be disbanded.
The job of the Supreme Court is to rule on the constitutionality of laws enacted throughout the United States as well as lower court rulings and sometimes their own rulings. According to our Constitution, powers not specifically granted to the federal government are powers that belong to the individual states. That’s what their ruling on Roe v. Wade essentially reflects. They did not make abortion illegal. They returned that power to the states.
Congress and the individual state legislatures have the power and responsibility to enact laws that would address some of the grievances she cited. I think this was the point of some of the recent Supreme Court rulings, such as the EPA decision. The courts should not make laws.
I understand Forsythe’s frustration. I’m frustrated as well. For far too long, our courts have been making law instead of ruling on existing law. Many believe this is how our laws are made. It’s not.
Ralph Dunsworth
Oveido, Fla.