Remember the importance of judges

Now here’s a real good example of why we need a fully informed citizenry to vote conscientiously in the election. The highest court in the land determines the most important issues in our nation, and that’s the outcome of a process that starts with elections like these. Whoever controls Congress practically determines which judges will rise to higher power.

We’re about to see impact of that process in this new hearing.

The morning after the closely fought midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear its first major abortion case in six years.

The hot-button issue has been debated for years among social and religious activists, voters and judges themselves.

At issue in Wednesday’s arguments is the constitutionality of a federal law banning a specific late-term procedure its critics call “partial-birth” abortion.

That terminology always makes me flinch, because the mainstream media repeat that phrase like a mantra. I always wonder what its supporters call partial-birth abortion.

Anyway,

After Justice Samuel Alito replaced Sandra Day O’Connor this year, court watchers have been waiting for a pair of cases to signal whether the court is shifting to the right.

Now let’s see where the Congress that approved them shifts after today.