Was the Supreme Court a “loyal foot-soldier” of the Executive in fighting the War on Drugs?
Is it still? This issue can definitely be debated. But, as I showed in the previous two posts, whenever a Supreme Court Justice comes out against blind judicial pandering to drug warriors, it usually happens in a dissenting opinion. And - vice-versa, a quote by a Supreme Court Justice expressing the evils of illicit drugs usually appears in a majority opinion. Well, here’s a quote (albeit, somewhat dated) from nothing less than a Supreme Court itself answering the question asked in the post title:
“In the years since Ross was decided [from 1982 to 1991], the Court has heard argument in 30 Fourth Amendment cases involving narcotics. In all but one, the government was the petitioner. All save two involved a search or seizure without a warrant or with a defective warrant. And, in all except three, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the search or seizure.
In the meantime, the flow of narcotics cases through the courts has steadily and dramatically increased. [...] No impartial observer could criticize this Court for hindering the progress of the war on drugs. On the contrary, decisions like the one the Court makes today will support the conclusion that this Court has become a loyal foot soldier in the Executive’s fight against crime.”
Well, at least we can be pretty certain what the answer is for the years from 1982 to 1991. Of course, the admission by Justice Stevens obviously also appears in a dissenting opinion…
admin :: Jun.13.2007 :: Legal Issues :: No Comments »