LETTER: Change system for appointment of justices

“We the People in order to form a more perfect government” — those words were written to mean exactly what they said, “We the People.”

It is my opinion that the president and the Senate should not be involved in the selection of a Supreme Court justice. That should fall into the hands of a Select Committee of Constitutional Scholars and Constitutional Attorneys at Law who practice cases before the court.

Lifetime appointments were made for the courts because at the time when our Constitution was written, the average life expectancy of an adult male was 47 years of age. Two out of 10 people in the population at that time could read or write, the rest were totally illiterate.

Most people today look at the decision of the court with regards to Obamacare and think it was totally wrong in its decision. But it was made for political reasons, not constitutional reasons and that is what the court has become, a political tool of the administration. Franklin Roosevelt himself tried to pack the court for political reasons.

Our Constitution needs to be revised in some ways to keep pace with the 21st century. The Bill of Rights should not be touched, but the rules regarding the selection of individuals to our government should be adjusted to keep pace with the times. —Jim Garvey, Kalispell