Will Rodriguez-Kennedy: The Supreme Court is overly political, out of touch and outdated. It needs reforms.

Last week our nation faced a sobering moment as we mourned the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A brilliant jurist and a pioneer for women in the legal profession, Justice Ginsburg believed that the rule of law should make us all more equal. Many Americans took time to remember and honor the accomplishments and consequence of a life that was dedicated to the service of our nation.

On her deathbed, Justice Ginsburg said: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." In her last moments, she felt the weight of democracy on her shoulders.

The American people should have a say in who nominates her replacement but a dysfunctional and morally bankrupt cast of Republicans in the U.S. Senate are intent on pushing forward with an appointment in spite of the fact that their own words cautioned against election year appointments just a short four years ago when they denied President Barack Obama's nominee a vote.

"Given that we are in the midst of the presidential election process, we believe that the American people should seize the opportunity to weigh in on whom they trust to nominate the next person for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court," argued Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Trump Republican politicians will embrace hypocrisy because after decades of gerrymandering, voter suppression and attempts to disenfranchise voters from underrepresented communities the country is starting to turn against them. A new, more diverse electorate is starting to form, and their views are not in line with a Republican Party that has embraced White nationalism. So, if they cannot rule by democracy, they will attempt to rule by decree. That is why Republicans have made use of the nuclear option in order to pack the federal court system with over 300 Trump judicial appointments and it is why they are intent on dishonoring the last wish of an American hero to advance their own agenda.

If the American people wish to protect the republic, we must first acknowledge that the court system is broken from the top down. The Supreme Court is overly political, out of touch and outdated, and the federal judiciary fails to provide equal and speedy access to our court system, which is the right of every American. Every time the Supreme Court issues a decision we hold our breaths with fear and anticipation, hoping these lifetime appointees will not destroy the hopes of many; and we cannot deny that the current court system treats Black, Brown, and poor people differently from their wealthy and White counterparts thereby contributing to mass incarceration, disproportionate outcomes and other forms of systemic oppression.

Now everything is at risk from civil rights, voting rights, reproductive rights and the environment to LGBTQ+ equality. Democrats must rise to the occasion and fight with every tool available to them to prevent a Supreme Court appointment by President Donald Trump but assuming that the politics are not in their favor and Republicans push through an appointee anyways we should ask ourselves: can we do better?

We can, and we should, by reforming the court system. We should expand the Supreme Court, to provide a more diverse and representative court. The amount of justices has grown and shrunk over the centuries but adding more justices would allow the Supreme Court to better administer its duties with respect to the circuits, and it we would allow for more diverse voices to be represented at the highest table of judicial power. We should also end the practice of lifetime appointments, which are inherently undemocratic and have utterly failed to provide an unbiased court system. And we should make these reforms as part of a broader effort intent on creating a fairer court system while addressing systemic racism.

As we continue with the election season, we should vote with the understanding that we have an opportunity to change our country for the better. The Democratic Party must provide leadership where previous governments have failed. We must offer the American people a better economy and a better judicial system. We do this by removing the incumbent president from office, defending the House, taking back the U.S. Senate, and then delivering results for the people. There is hope on the horizon, but before we get there the American people must exercise their most sacred right: the right to vote!

Rodriguez-Kennedy is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps who lives in Downtown San Diego. He serves as the chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, the president of the California Young Democrats, and a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Editor's Note: The San Diego Union-Tribune asked Tony Krvaric, chair of the San Diego County Republican Party, to write an op-ed on Ginsburg, and he declined.

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