A Draft Resolution of Congressional Censure Against 
United States Supreme Court Justices 

Kennedy, O'Connor, Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas 

for Their Betrayal of the American People 
and the United States Constitution 
Displayed in the Decisions of 
Bush v. Gore


Why Censure?
 
Letter of Introduction
 
The Counts of Censure
 
I. Applicable Laws and Principles
 
II. The Legal Controversy in Florida
 
III. The U.S. Supreme Court's Intervention
 
IV. The U.S. Supreme Court's Decision
 
V. The Anomalous Nature of the Per Curiam Rulings
 
VI. The Tragic Impact of the Supreme Court's Rulings
 
VII. The Voice of Memory
 
Therefore it is resolved that . . .
 






Act Now
PDF Version of Resolution
Acknowledgments
Dedication
Media
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What You Can Do


You may add your own personal thoughts about the Bush v. Gore outrage to the suggested text below or just use a printable version of the letter as is, sign, and send to your members of Congress. It's that easy.



I, _____________, do hereby censure and condemn in the strongest terms the five justices of the United States Supreme Court issuing the per curiam rulings in the case of Bush v. Gore (No. 00-949)—namely, Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas—for their improvident, reckless, derelict and intolerable acts of usurpation and subversion of the lawful powers rightfully belonging to the states and to another branch of the federal government (Congress) coequal with the Court, committed on December 9, 2000 and December 12, 2000;

These five justices, on said dates, terminated the orderly recount of presidential election undervotes in Florida by partisan and illegitimate federal judicial edicts, causing the votes cast by many thousands of citizens in that state to be left uncounted and the rightful winner of Florida's electoral votes to be left undetermined; this concerted act of betrayal of the American people and of the Constitution by these five justices, utterly lamentably, prevented the democratic election of the head of the Executive branch of the federal government in the year 2000 from being concluded in conformity with constitutionally prescribed state and Electoral College procedures (as duly determined, in Florida's case, by the state Supreme Court);

In launching their malevolent assault on the citadel of checked-and-balanced, separated powers and ordered liberty—the bedrock principles of constitutional governance so indispensable to the longevity of United States as a nation of laws—these five justices did grievously wound the body politic, devastate the civic esteem in which judges are held, and debase the national spirit for years to come;

By their continued presence on the bench, these five justices stain the escutcheon of the United States Supreme Court and do utterly disgrace and dishonor the once eminent judicial institution it has been their privilege to serve; and in order to spare the nation from the unprecedented ignominy of impeachment proceedings and/or investigations into violations of ethics and law committed by said justices in connection with the decisions in Bush v. Gore, I further strongly urge the five justices and the Congress to take the following remedial steps:

 
(i) that each and all of said five justices not already departed from the bench at the time of publication of this document do immediately resign their office and retire from public life;

(ii) that the Congress of the United States do likewise act forthwith to censure and condemn in the strongest terms possible said five justices by Joint Resolution; and

(iii) that the Congress (by said Joint Resolution), and each member of thereof, do likewise demand the immediate resignations and retirement from public life of each and all of said five justices not already departed from the bench at the time of the introduction of said Joint Resolution.


Respectfully,

_____________