Ep. 163: The Media-Manufactured Mystique of the US Court System

Citations Needed

News, Society & Culture

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2022

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"John Roberts Passes Test: Politicization of Judicial Appointment is Disheartening," read a 2005 headline from Salisbury, Maryland's Daily Times. "Ignore the attacks on Neil Gorsuch. He's an intellectual giant — and a good man," Robert P. George pleaded in The Washington Post in 2017. Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court nomination "is beyond politics," South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn told CBS's Face the Nation in 2022.

We hear the same refrains over and over about the US federal court system in general and the U.S. Supreme Court in particular. They're independent judiciaries. They abide by the Constitution, the rule of law, the law of the land. They follow legal precedent. They're bastions of integrity and impartiality. It's reassuring to think of our courts as measured, fair, upholding democracy, and acting in the public's interest.

But history shows that these articles of faith are undeserved. The courts are profoundly political, and they wield power that affects every corner of people's lives, from healthcare to policing, education to climate. So why is it that The Courts are awarded such mystique? What purpose does it serve to paint them as untouchable and unquestionable, existing outside of politics? And how does this framing stack the deck against those seeking long overdue and radical change to our systems? On this episode, we examine how media have helped manufacture the sense of ennobled secrecy of the Supreme Court and broader so-called "justice system," looking at the ways in which the courts' power runs counter to the will and needs of the public, the creation of campaigns to feign judicial impartiality and apoliticism, and the American exceptionalism that undergirds popular framings of one of the world's most reactionary institutions.

Our guest is writer Josie Duffy Rice.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is Citations Needed with Nemeshirazi and Adam Johnson.
0:09.0	Welcome to Citations Needed, a podcast on the media, power, PR, and the history of bullshit.
0:14.4	I am Nemeshirazi.
0:15.6	I'm Adam Johnson.
0:16.7	You can follow the show on Twitter at CitationsPod, Facebook, Citations Needed, and become
0:20.9	a supporter of the show through patreon.com slash Citations Needed podcast.
0:25.9	All your support through patreon is so incredibly appreciated as we are 100% listener funded.
0:31.3	We don't have commercials, we don't have hook mattresses, we don't do stuff like that.
0:35.4	On purpose, and that is all due to the very generous contributions of our listeners that
0:41.2	really do keep this show sustainable.
0:43.4	If you already supported it, you want to support it more, or you just want really cool
0:47.3	merch.
0:48.3	We know her merch store at bonfire.com slash store slash citations needed.
0:52.4	You can search bonfire for citations needed there.
0:55.0	We got t-shirts, tank tops, tote bags, mugs, anything you buy there helps support the
1:00.1	show and helps show off to your friends that you know this really awesome podcast.
1:04.6	So you should go there and buy it, help support us if you can.
1:09.2	John Roberts passes test.
1:11.7	Politicization of judicial appointment is disheartening.
1:16.1	Read a 2005 headline from Salisbury, Maryland's Daily Times.
1:20.6	Ignore the attacks on Neil Gorsuch, he's an intellectual giant and a good man.
1:26.8	Robert P. George pleaded in the pages of the Washington Post in 2017.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Citations Needed, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Citations Needed and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.