A.G. Gancarski
With Justice Stephen Breyer retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court, Gov. Ron DeSantis offered some thoughts on Breyer’s eventual replacement Friday.
President Joe Biden has yet to announce who his first Supreme Court nominee will be, but DeSantis urged a selection with “humility” who understands that the role of a Justice is not that of a “philosopher-king.”
“When you’re dealing with picks for the Supreme Court, you want people who are going to be faithful to the law and the Constitution, and understand how our constitutional system was designed to have separate powers,” DeSantis said.
“The job of the judicial branch is to apply the law and Constitution. It’s not to rewrite the law and Constitution. Judges who understand that … have a certain amount of humility to understand the proper role. Doesn’t mean you can’t be active in deciding cases properly before you, and if you have to come down on the constitutional side, you have to do it and do it forcefully.”
“But you’re not a philosopher-king. And you’re not hovering over the entire political system and basically being a super-legislator,” DeSantis added.
The Governor’s comments were the first on record regarding the imminent court vacancy. Breyer will serve on the Court until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate. President Biden has vowed to select a Black woman for the open position.
Shortlist candidates identified by the Associated Press include California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, prominent civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill and U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs.
DeSantis has not been afraid to weigh in on Supreme Court cases, including critiques of generally right-of-center jurists.
Earlier this month, DeSantis said the decision to uphold a challenge to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s private business vaccine-or-test mandates was a “no-brainer.” But the Governor added that Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh failed to show “backbone” in their decision to keep in place a mandate for health care workers.
18 comments
Ron Ogden
January 28, 2022 at 11:10 am
Find a liberal lawyer, judge, journalist or bureaucrat with true humility? Tall order. You might as well try to find a Hollywood pop culture star with humility–a Beyonce with self-restraint. Wishful thinking.
Kathy
January 28, 2022 at 11:20 am
Agreed.
Kathy
January 28, 2022 at 11:20 am
Humility?! Bwahaha! And before his minions start posting, “America’s Governor” would do well to try a little humility himself. Ass.
Andy Gelmers
January 28, 2022 at 1:17 pm
agreed
Sister Mary Doigt, Holy Mackerel Stinky Boys School, Tallahassee
January 28, 2022 at 3:35 pm
Now, now, Kathy, watch your language! Calling Mister DeSantis an “ass” is ambiguous, isn’t it, since we all like a good one, don’t we? But we don’t like this one, do we. So let us be more to the point: Mister DeSantis is an asshole, bless his heart, and he does assholian (new word!) things like lecture pompously about humility, and he has no idea how ironic that is, bless his heart.
Tom
January 28, 2022 at 5:24 pm
Sista, when you are kneeling you see a lot of ass. You like that! They chant kneel Sista kneel,
Gov Ron is America’s Gov, honoring his wife and family,
Sista your bad habits hard to break.
Paul Marshall Phillips
January 28, 2022 at 11:22 am
Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually had philosopher-kings and a “kallipolis.” Although DeSantis certainly qualifies as one, he must shed that skin in order to appeal to those that elect him, who have lost any respect for knowledge, education and ethos. Founders knew this, and that’s why SCOTUS decisions involve ZERO public or gubernatorial input. Hell, as written, the Constitution didn’t even have Senators elected by the populous. Telling.
Ron Ogden
January 28, 2022 at 11:53 am
As the headmaster said, Mr. Phillips: “Wrong! Do it Again!” The idea of an independent judiciary is just that: freedom from the passions of public argument, not an especial adherence to a particular curriculum or academic tradition. Those among the founders who were college boys came from religious institutions, and the key lesson of religion is humility before the God who created you for a particular purpose and will judge you in due time. It is not your own intellectual accomplishments that matter to Him. And our great philosopher king, Lincoln, wrote his law lessons on the back of a coal shovel by the feeble light of a guttering candle. No sir, don’t lecture us about having lost respect for YOUR ethos, lecture your liberal colleagues about how each and every one of the Trumpers and rightwingers and Capitol building carousers all share one thing with them: one person-one vote, with no poll worker asking to see your JD when you walk in. DeSantis was right to demand humility.
Andy Gelmers
January 28, 2022 at 1:20 pm
DeSantis should embrace a little humility.
nail
January 29, 2022 at 9:31 am
How would he garner the bottom of the barrel QAnon GQP if DeSantis showed any humanity? All he and his minions want is a death to this country.
DeSantis like his orange mentor, think that he can control SCOTUS from his seat. He can only say this in front of pathetic right wing goons who know nothing about government. They shake their heads in unison because it sounds good. Good little sheep, good little sheep, Desantis says as he leaves the room with all their money. Thank gxd there are more reasonable Dems that have taken over the percentage of vote in Fl..
DeSantis has Florida moving so far to the radical right, they will fall off the cliff soon.
Desantis does not work for FL, he works for himself.
What governor talks to only the extremist people of the state. He wants Florida to become DeSantisland, home of the 1st Authoritarian government.
He started with the kids, like Hitler did. Control the kids then you get the uneducated parents.
Tom
January 28, 2022 at 12:13 pm
Agreed Ron, America’s Gov right on as usual!
Sotamayor and Kagan, elite pathetic liberals with example of no humility. They both lied on children snd Covid deaths. Attempting to justify osha mandate. Just atrocious. Sotamayor should be impeached. Thank God McConnell stopped that hack Garland. His performance has been dismal. Threatening school parents. What an incompetent presidency. The above Manchurians are an embarrassment!
Best Gov in America! Wipes the floor with the Dums everyday.
Tommy-o
January 28, 2022 at 12:54 pm
Dear Christ on a cracker! Get help, buddy.
Tom
January 28, 2022 at 5:18 pm
Cracker my ass.
America’s Gov the best!
Your incompetent Biden Harris.
Garlands gestapo.
Sotamayor pathetic ignorance.
Liberal Manchurian incompetence
Enjoy!
politics
January 28, 2022 at 1:13 pm
That is part of the constitution and yea those qualities are real.
who ever magical no.
The Shameless Right
January 29, 2022 at 1:34 pm
Mr Desantis? You supported Donald Trump, so you should probably be keeping quiet about “Philosopher-kings”. But since you’ve shared your opinion, where were your warnings of “HUMILITY” when Trump picked Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and (the fastest nomination in SCOTUS history) Barrett? For that matter, which President in US history had less humility than Trump?
Jeanne
January 29, 2022 at 11:56 pm
Pot meet kettle. Desantis has literally turned the Florida Supreme Court into his puppet court. There are countless examples but Florigrown is one. I think the phrase he used was “that’s the way the cookie crumbles”.
Tom
January 30, 2022 at 4:15 am
Wah Wah Wah, cry eye shameless right and Jeanne. How jealous can you be. 3 great court nominations. They had the votes and nomination. Unlike sotamayor, what a incompetent, liar she is bout Covid deaths.
Thank God Garland was blocked by McConnell.
As for cookie crumbles, everyone knew the winner would have 3 appointments in 18. Thats the way it was. Wah Wah Wah babies.
Kathy
February 1, 2022 at 10:44 am
Yes, Sister, bless his heart, lol. Bless Tom’s heart also.
Comments are closed.