RSS
Home
Sears is our bet for U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Not very long after the announcement that a member of the U.S. Supreme Court will retire, one of the nation's best kept secrets, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Sears, had her name batted around as a possible replacement. I’m wondering now what odds Vegas has put on her chances.
Nobody I’ve talked to about her has said anything too negative about her. In fact, my friends here in Georgia and in other states agree that she would be a great choice.
Why?
First, she’s a fair and even-handed judge who is known to err on the conservative side of the law—not in terms of politics but in terms of judicial restraint. Second, she’s very young and has the potential to enjoy a long tenure.
Third, and least important, she is a black woman, which says a lot about black women and how they have elevated their status over the past decades.
“She’s perfect,” says state Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta). “With Souter leaving, there is no one on the Court who has experience as a state Supreme Court Justice. Sears would take that experience with her and provide a good perspective.”
For no good reason, a Republican man tried to take her seat on the Court during her last election. To say she cleaned the carpet with him is really an understatement. That election also proved that African-Americans can run statewide and not only win, but win big for one of the most important posts in Georgia.
Yes—indeed—throw current U.S. Justice Clarence Thomas and Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker in the mix, and Georgia has proven that race doesn’t not matter.
Hear that again: Justice Sears, Attorney General Baker and Justice Clarence Thomas are demonstrative that race is less and less a concern of rank and file Peach staters, especially where the law is concerned. For this, I am exceedingly glad.
What I appreciate about this Triumvirate and that these three have control over the very thing that kept blacks down for so long—the law.
It’s a rainy day in Georgia today, but there are no clouds hiding Sears accomplishments.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
