CNN Poll: Americans don't want politicians constraining judges

[DeepModem Mom]

Poll: Americans don't want politicians constraining judges

(CNN) -- Despite complaints about "activist judges" from both the right and the left following controversial rulings, two-thirds of Americans do not believe elected officials should have more control over federal judges, according to a new CNN poll released Saturday.

Sixty-seven percent of 1,013 people surveyed by Opinion Research Corp. on behalf of CNN said federal judges -- and the decisions they make -- should not be subject to more control.

Only 30 percent said they should....

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Forty-one percent of poll respondents said federal judges were "about right" in their decisions. Thirty-four percent said they are too liberal, and 20 percent said they are too conservative. The sampling error for the poll questions was 3 percentage points....

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(Justice Stephen) Breyer said, America's strength comes in part because of our ability to follow even the most hotly contested rulings.

"We've learned as a nation to follow decisions even when we think they're wrong," he said. "And in a country of 300 million people and...900 million points of view, that is a national treasure."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/27/activist.judges/index.html

[truthisfreedom]

1. let it all come down.

what, me worry?

[natrat]

2. and like "all americans" have anything to do with how the country is run nt

[stonecoldsober]

3. "Only 30 percent said they should...."

Those same 30 percent seem to be the root of all our problems in the last 6 years. If they all had dropped dead in October 2000 we wouldn't be in such an awful state of affairs.

[Demit]

4. GOOD. There's a stubborn strain of sanity left in the American people.

Even perhaps a dim memory of the Constitutional dictate of checks and balances.

[Toots]

5. "Only machines can be trusted as they are objective while people are subjective"

That is what Bush* said about election "judges" in 2000 after running on a constant theme of "I trust the people".

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[eyesroll]

7. "Activist judge" = did his/her job in a way I didn't like today.

Changing the law -- shooting it down, creating exceptions and interpretation, ordering the legislature to act -- has been part of a judge's job forever.

[Occulus]

8. I've never heard of people on the left complaining about "activist judges"

in the same way I don't hear people on the left advocate "abortion on demand".

That's the right's battle cry, CNN. Get with it!

[liberalhistorian]

9. Well, the "activist judges" we

should complain long and loud about are the Felonious Five on the Supreme Court who installed Bush six years ago; Gore v. Bush was a very unconstitutional ruling. THAT is a REAL example of "activist judges."

[Maven]

11. Exactly. But remember, the new right-wing meme, in the face

of so many scandals and so much naked corruption, is now "both sides do it!"

So, you see, the news channels are just doing their jobs.

[Stargleamer]

10. Conversely, when justices install presidents. . .

most don't have a problem with that.