The Biblical Qualifications of a Jurist
"You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
Leviticus 19:15
There is a reason that the famous statue of the Greek goddess Themis is wearing a blindfold. Justice requires that judgment not be biased by a judge being in favor of the poor or the rich. We often confuse justice with charity. The biblical view of justice is set forth in the Torah as spelled out in the verse above. Partiality is not to be taken into account when deciding what is just. President Obama's nomination of Judge Sotomayor because she has compassion for the poor and downtrodden fly in the face of the biblical standard for a justice. Charity and compassion are the realm of the individual's responsibility. This stands in stark contract to the demands of the law. When one chooses a judge because of their ethnicity or background to favor certain groups over others, you have a jurist who is prohibited by the commandment of Leviticus.
Justice is supposed to be blind. When we lose that principle, society suffers from the polarizing prejudices of a judiciary where judges push their own political agenda at the expense of the rule of law.
Labels: Leviticus 19:15
posted by Bradford L. Stevens @ 9:23 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I think you're walking a very dangerous line in trying to support a political ideology with scripture by pulling out one piece of Judge Sotomayor's character. I will remind you that President Bush made similar statements about Justice Thomas' empathy before his nomination. These things happen on both sides of the aisle in politics, and I feel your comments border on forcing the Bible to endorse a certain political viewpoint.
The Bible does not endorse any political point of view. That is why it serves as the foundation stone upon which jurisprudence is based. When we leave that path to search for jurists who are of a certain persuasion we miss the mark for the pursuit of justice. Having been a member of the bar for 33 years, I can tell you that the quality of the judiciary has declined dramatically in my opinion. It does not bode well for our society.
Your original post uses scripture to try to tear down the standing of Justice Sotomayor by labeling her as empathetic and biased.
Again, President Bush said the same thing about Clarence Thomas, but I don't see your even-handed criticism of that, obviously, because Justice Thomas is a conservative justice, with whom your views are more aligned.
This is clearly an example of scriptural gnat-straining in an attempt to show Biblical support for one paradigm and tear down an opposing view by labeling it un-Biblical. If you disagree with Justice Sotomayor's interpretation of the constitution, that is fair game. But to cloak civil, worldly disagreement in Biblical language -- this is the beginning of most church strife -- to elevate the profane in terms of the holy.
And judicial argument aside, I think it is imperative to revisit the scriptural argument for God's picture of justice as it relates to the poor and oppressed. In my understanding of the Bible, God is almost always on the side of the poor and oppressed. The worldly idea of justice and the Godly idea of justice are completely separate and cannot be synthesized.
Go back and read the scripture quoted above again. Justice emanates from the nature of God. It is part of righteousness. It does not take sides or seek its own bias. In this day and age, we have lost sight of this attribute. It has nothing to do with culture, political persuasion, or ethnic background.
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