Lyle Denniston, Syracuse University’s Constitution Day speaker, asked the audience a question that introduced a new perspective of today’s judicial system: Is the Supreme Court too active?

Denniston, a writer for the Supreme Court’s SCOTUSblog, spoke at Maxwell Hall on Tuesday afternoon as part of the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics and the Media’s celebration of Constitution Day. Denniston criticized Chief Justice John Roberts’ court for overstepping judicial boundaries during his lecture, titled ‘The Dynamism and Activism of the Roberts Court.’

Constitution Day is an American federal observance recognizing the ratification of the U.S constitution and is celebrated Sept. 17. As part of the commemoration, the government mandates that all publicly funded educational institutions offer Constitution-related educational programs to students, Denniston said.

Denniston has been a Supreme Court journalist for 49 years and, in addition to his work for SCOTUSblog, he reports on the Supreme Court for WBUR in Boston and for NPR, according to an SU news release. Also a member of the hall of fame for the Society of Professional Journalists, he has previously worked for The Boston Globe, Washington Star and Wall Street Journal, according to the release.

‘He’s the most senior Supreme Court journalist in the country,’ said Keith Bybee, professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and director of the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics and the Media. ‘He’s seen it all and has been reporting long enough to cover eleven justices.’

Denniston said he firmly believes that Roberts’ court is too active, but not in the traditional form. He said an activist judiciary is usually characterized as bold and innovative, as was the case in the court’s ruling in Snyder v. Phelps, which dealt with a peaceful anti-gay protest at a funeral. Justices were straightforward and said that the protest was a means of freedom of speech, Denniston said.

In using the term ‘active,’ however, Denniston means that the current court puts more thought and time in its decisions than necessary. He used the example of Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushing police emergency theory by allowing criminal prosecutors to use a witness dying from gunshot wounds.

‘It could be the result of supreme self-confidence,’ Denniston said. ‘Judicial power is to be used sparingly, and apparently not using it sparingly takes it to a greater importance than it perhaps has. Or justices could simply have more time on their hands, and let their legal imagination roam.’

Denniston then referred to the Ashwander doctrine, an opinion of Justice Louis Brandeis which stated that the Supreme Court should never decide on a constitutional issue unless it is absolutely necessary.

Denniston said he believes it will be interesting to see how the court will react to newly arising controversial topics, such as health care, Arizona immigration laws and same-sex marriage. He said the court can anticipate heavy controversy and believes the court will deal with it in a truly activist and dynamic way.

He still respects the court in other aspects, saying it is still held in very high esteem by the American people, with a more than 60 percent approval rate (— which is higher than Congress. Though justices overuse their judicial power, Denniston said they still operate within legitimate parameters.

‘It’s a conservative court acting in an energetic, muscular, creating way,’ he said. ‘But they all make an effort to be public servants. This is a court whose work comes in the front door and out the front door and must justify itself on the public record. It does a handsome job with that.’

Elizabeth Cahill, a sophomore international relations major, said she thought Denniston posed an interesting opinion.

‘You never really perceive judicial review as a bad thing until you see how much it can be overused,’ she said. ‘Denniston made that very clear and explained how it’s not always a good thing.’

meltagou@syr.edu

Published on September 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Marwa: meltagou@syr.edu | @marwaeltagouri