Reprinted from the Black Agenda Report
Our worst nightmares are becoming reality as George Bush’s U.S. Supreme Court strangles the very concept of due process and nonracial administration of justice. In its latest frothings, the High Court ruled that workers must be clairvoyant in order to win job discrimination cases – requiring they file charges within 180 days of the offense, thus leaving no room to prove a pattern and practice of discrimination.
The justices affirmed that potential jurors who oppose the death penalty – disproportionately Black – can be excluded from capital cases, ensuring that “only racist, conviction happy jurors sit in judgment.
George W. Bush is president because of the United States Supreme Court. Were it not for the decision to stop counting votes in Bush v. Gore, Al Gore would be president of the United States instead. The right wing presidential victory was the culmination of many years of effort to take over the federal judiciary. Now Bush has two Supreme Court justices confirmed on his watch, and the damage to the justice system in this country is immense.
In the past month, the Roberts court has lived up to predictions that the worst case scenario has come to full fruition. In Ledbetter v. Goodyear, the court essentially advised workers to file discrimination lawsuits as soon as they begin a new job. Discrimination complaints under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act must now be made within 180 days of the discriminatory pay practice taking place. If the victim smells a rat after 180 days, there is no legal remedy and employers have no fear of legal retribution.
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