Month: February 2023

Israel Spearheads Judicial Changes

Although this is not in relation to the U.S. Supreme Court, I found this topic relevant and interesting with many parallels to the U.S. judicial system. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government is pushing for changes to limit their Supreme Court’s power to rule against the legislature and executive branch. The changes would allocate to lawmakers decisive powers in appointing judges. This is not a wise move on behalf of the Israeli government, one which already has relatively weak checks and balances. The Supreme Court would lose much of their already limited authority and allow the legislative and executive branches to have near complete unchecked power. Once again arises the issue of courts being unbiased and not encroaching into the political sphere, which is what advocates of the reform are repeating. But how do we go about enforcing fair checks and balances while also ensuring each branch is operating in their truest form with good intentions? That question is still yet to be answered around the world.

Supreme Court Hears Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College & UNC

One of the most important cases presented before the Supreme Court in the 2022-2023 session was the Oct. 31st hearing in which the non-profit organization are accusing both prestigious Colleges benefit black applicants at the expense of Asian-American students in their race-conscious admissions programs. This has been an issue being flagged in colleges and universities across the country in the last few years. I believe catering to a specific race versus evaluating students on their own intellectual merits hinders the college application process and many students. It is a violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin by any educational program that receives money from the federal government. Decisions made concerning admissions should be unbiased and return to the caliber of student let in. Due to quotas that many colleges have now, Asian-American students who deserve to get into certain colleges and universities are being unjustly rejected. It is an affront to the college application system, which at one point, used to be fair and unbiased.