Senate Must Act Now to Preserve the Integrity of Our Judiciary
We often hear about ‘activist judges’ bending the Constitution to fit their personal worldview.
But there’s a new, troubling trend of lower courts making a mockery of the Supreme Court by contradicting its rulings in clear-cut cases. The Moody Bible Institute case is a stark example.
To recap: Moody Bible Institute, a Christian college, was sued by a former employee, Janay Garrick, who accused the institute of discrimination because it doesn’t allow women to serve in the pastoral ministry.
Garrick knew about the school’s position on this matter when she joined and even signed yearly applications affirming her support for the college’s views.
Yet she challenged the institute’s position and later lodged a lawsuit against them.
Now, the Supreme Court has already spoken clearly on similar matters.
Consider the case of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, where the Supreme Court affirmed that the First Amendment allows religious groups the freedom to choose their religious leaders.
The court explicitly stated that Title VII couldn’t force religious institutions to contradict their beliefs.
This should be a closed case, right? Not so, apparently.
Here’s what Daniel Blomberg, vice president and senior legal counsel for the Becket Fund told the Christian Post:
“A federal court, unfortunately, has said that’s not so obvious anymore, and we’re going to force you to go through years of litigation just to vindicate what a decade ago before a unanimous Supreme Court was an obvious First Amendment right.”
Despite the clear Supreme Court guidance, a lower court has allowed Garrick’s case to proceed, potentially forcing Moody Bible Institute to change its doctrines to accommodate a position contrary to its beliefs.
This is a flagrant disregard of Supreme Court precedent, and it has serious implications.
It forces religious institutions like Moody Bible Institute to spend thousands of dollars and navigate years of litigation to affirm rights that the Supreme Court already unequivocally recognized.
This kind of judicial overreach isn’t just an affront to the Supreme Court but to our democracy, religious liberty, and the Constitution.
What purpose does the Supreme Court serve if its rulings can be blatantly disregarded by ideologically-driven judges, a strategy that is alarmingly becoming more common among activist justices?
It’s an unnecessary, costly, and time-consuming drain on our judicial resources, all in the service of imposing a narrow, leftist-driven agenda on religious institutions.
These lower court judges are effectively thumbing their noses at the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and the rights of Americans.
If this trend continues, it will further erode faith in our judicial system and undermine our nation’s bedrock principles.
If judges can’t respect the highest court in the land and its rulings, they have no place on the bench.
It’s high time the United States House and Senate acted on this issue and removed arrogant judges from office who think they have the power to strike down a Supreme Court ruling.
This isn’t about political ideology but about maintaining the integrity of our judiciary and preserving the rule of law.
Let’s make sure the Supreme Court’s rulings aren’t just empty words. It’s time to take action and protect our Constitutional freedoms.
