A Collective Statement The Supreme Court Justices Should Release
We are deeply saddened by the loss our treasured friend.
We our deeply saddened by the loss of a trusted colleague, and the nation’s loss of a revered, faithful public servant and renowned jurist.
We are deeply saddened that our sister branches of government gave us only a single hour to focus solely on, and to fully feel, the chasm left in her wake.
We are deeply saddened that this void is being filled at lightning speed by focusing not on her life, her work and her legacy - if even just for the two weekend days following her passing - but instead on the vacancy of her position.
We are deeply saddened that our great loss - the institution’s loss, the nation’s loss, and each of our personal and professional losses- has so quickly become a political football between our sister branches.
We are deeply saddened that the sanctity and impartiality of this sacred institution is being called into question.
We are deeply saddened that faith in our judiciary is being undermined and eroded.
We deeply saddened that Ruth Bader Ginsberg expressed her fervent, dying wish that she not be replaced until after the incumbent president is re-elected or a new one installed, and that so few members of our sister branches have acknowledged or shown respect for that wish.
We, as her colleagues and friends - and as the chosen stewards of the highest court in our nation - wish to do so now.
We stand with Justice Ginsberg and express our own fervent wish that the focus be on sending to the Supreme Court a qualified, impartial jurist to preside along-side us. This individual will have enormous shoes to step into - and must be qualified for, and worthy of, the undertaking. Careful, deliberate, thoughtful consideration and care must go into the selection of the person who will stand among us - all eight of us - in our commitment to providing impartial justice for the greater good of this nation and its citizens. This process must not be hurried or rushed for the sake of political expediency. The future of the judiciary - one that has equal import, weight and value to this nation to the executive and legislative bodies - depends gravely upon the sanctity of the process. To proceed otherwise would be a great disservice, and risk irreparable harm, to this hallowed body and our nation’s faith in it.
We ask that her express wish, one that honors and aligns with her legacy, be shown its due respect.
We ask that our grief as humans, our grief as a co-equal branch of government, and our grief as a nation be shown its due respect.
We ask that our sister branches, and its members, recognize the import of a thoughtful, deliberative selection process and that such process be shown its due respect.
We ask that the judiciary branch and the Supreme Court of the United States of America be shown its due respect.
These are OUR fervent wishes.
With sincerity and hope,
Chief Justice Roberts
Justice Alito
Justice Breyer
Justice Gorsuch
Justice Kagan
Justice Kavanaugh
Justice Sotomayor
Justice Thomas