«Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation is likely to have a dramatic effect on the future direction of the Supreme Court and her replacement must be a strong supporter of the Bill of Rights, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
"Justice O'Connor was a key swing vote on church and state and many other social issues," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. "We must insist that President Bush replace her with a nominee who respects individual freedom.
"O'Connor was a conservative," Lynn continued, "but she saw the complexity of church-state issues and tried to choose a course that respected the country's religious diversity. Her resignation potentially opens the door to the greatest change in the court's direction in modern history."
Lynn noted that O'Connor's support for separation of church and state was not consistent. She ruled against government-sponsored religion in public schools but supported tax subsidies to private religious schools through vouchers and other forms of aid. Most recently, she opposed government display of the Ten Commandments in a pair of decisions handed down earlier this week.
O'Connor was a strong supporter of free exercise of religion and opposed efforts to give the government increased power to curb religious practices.
Lynn said Bush should avoid selecting an extreme nominee who will unleash a bitterly divisive battle over his or her confirmation.
Said Lynn, "The best way to make sure this process works is for the president to seek the advice of Senators from both parties and select a mainstream nominee who can achieve broad, bi-partisan support, just as presidents from both parties have done in the past.
"During the 2000 election, President Bush said he admires justices like Antonin Scalia," Lynn said. "Putting another Scalia on the high court would be a mistake. It would only escalate already divisive 'culture war' issues and spark a string of decisions that could fragment Americans along religious lines."»
"Justice O'Connor was a key swing vote on church and state and many other social issues," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. "We must insist that President Bush replace her with a nominee who respects individual freedom.
"O'Connor was a conservative," Lynn continued, "but she saw the complexity of church-state issues and tried to choose a course that respected the country's religious diversity. Her resignation potentially opens the door to the greatest change in the court's direction in modern history."
Lynn noted that O'Connor's support for separation of church and state was not consistent. She ruled against government-sponsored religion in public schools but supported tax subsidies to private religious schools through vouchers and other forms of aid. Most recently, she opposed government display of the Ten Commandments in a pair of decisions handed down earlier this week.
O'Connor was a strong supporter of free exercise of religion and opposed efforts to give the government increased power to curb religious practices.
Lynn said Bush should avoid selecting an extreme nominee who will unleash a bitterly divisive battle over his or her confirmation.
Said Lynn, "The best way to make sure this process works is for the president to seek the advice of Senators from both parties and select a mainstream nominee who can achieve broad, bi-partisan support, just as presidents from both parties have done in the past.
"During the 2000 election, President Bush said he admires justices like Antonin Scalia," Lynn said. "Putting another Scalia on the high court would be a mistake. It would only escalate already divisive 'culture war' issues and spark a string of decisions that could fragment Americans along religious lines."»
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