High Court Not Bound By Roe V. Wade, Gonzales Says

I found this off the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (July 26) - The legal right to abortion is settled for lower courts, but the Supreme Court "is not obliged to follow" the Roe v. Wade precedent, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday as the Senate prepared to consider John Roberts' appointment that would put a new vote on the high court.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Gonzales said a justice does not have to follow a previous ruling "if you believe it's wrong," a comment suggesting Roberts would not be bound by his past statement that the 1973 decision settled the issue.

Gonzales said circumstances had changed since Roberts commented on Roe v. Wade during his 2003 confirmation hearing for the seat he now holds on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

"If you're asking a circuit court judge, like Judge Roberts was asked, yes, it is settled law because you're bound by the precedent," Gonzales said.

"If you're a Supreme Court justice, that's a different question because a Supreme Court justice is not obliged to follow precedent if you believe it's wrong," Gonzales said.

A Supreme Court justice is not obliged to follow precedent if you believe it's wrong.

Not obliged to follow precedent if you believe it's wrong! Think about those words for a moment. If you follow Gonzales's argument to the extreme, a Supreme Court justice could declare the U.S. Constitution as unconstitutional if that justice believed it was wrong. A Supreme Court justice could throw the Bill of Rights away if that justice believed it was wrong. Gonzales is saying that a justice is not bound by the Constitution or its amendments, but by the justice's own beliefs--whether they've been stated or not. Of course, Gonzales's argument resonates with the right-wingnuts since they want to pack the court with their ideologues to overturn Roe, impose prayer in schools, discriminate against gays and lesbians, dismantle civil rights and liberties, and God-knows-what-else. And President Bush, Gonzales, and the wingnuts would love to pack the Supreme Court with justices who would rule according to their religious beliefs rather than judicial precedent.