To the Editor:
Re “With Big Rulings Ahead, Supreme Court Collides With a Testy Trump” (news article, May 26):
Chief Justice John Roberts has said the Supreme Court plays a role in curbing “the excesses” of a president. But how does this high-minded notion square with his notorious immunity ruling two years ago?
If, as the article states, the Roberts court represents “perhaps the one force in American government truly able to thwart” President Trump’s agenda, then heaven help us. While the court may decide against him on a couple of cases that are illegal or unconstitutional on their face, such as the tariff and birthright citizenship ones, it’s likely the six Republican appointees will continue to be excessively deferential to dozens of other unscrupulous decisions this president has made or will make.
Far from colliding with Mr. Trump, it seems obvious to me from recent history that the court has been colluding instead.
Bryan L. Tucker
Boston
To the Editor:
Re “This Redistricting Chaos Needs to End,” by Eric H. Holder Jr. (Opinion guest essay, May 20):
Mr. Holder is right to worry about the bitterness surrounding Supreme Court nominations, but wrong to think 18-year term limits would solve the problem.
Confirmations are contentious not because justices serve too long, but because they wield enormous power and often hold sharply different judicial philosophies. Whether a justice serves 18 years or 36, the stakes remain immense. There are ways to reduce the drama, but each comes at a huge cost.
Congress could be given power to override some constitutional rulings, as in other democracies, but that would weaken judicial review. Justices could be selected through a civil-service model, such as automatic elevation of chief judges of the courts of appeals, but that would reduce democratic accountability. Or all the justices could serve fixed presidential-style four-year terms — nominated on Day 1 of a president’s term — but that would radically alter the court’s independence.
In truth, none of these are good ideas (or even constitutional). Wisely, the Constitution deliberately makes appointments shared between the president and the Senate. When they are controlled by different parties, conflict is not a flaw in the system; it is part of the safeguard.
Term limits may sound tidy, but they do not address the real problem: polarization over judicial power itself. The answer is not to simplify our institutions, but to respect the checks and balances built into them.
Michael J. Broyde
Atlanta
The writer is a professor of law at Emory University School of Law.
Climate Corruption
To the Editor:
In the litany of President Trump’s corrupt practices, let’s not forget his ongoing corruption on energy policy. He kicked it off with lies, as usual: Climate change is a “hoax,” and efforts to combat it are “the green new scam.”
In exchange for campaign contributions, he promised fossil fuel companies favorable policies. He has largely delivered on that promise, opening nearly 1.3 billion acres of coastal waters and millions of acres of sensitive public lands to oil and gas drilling. Mr. Trump has also relaxed pollution controls, which will have detrimental effects on our health and the environment.
He has stifled competition to fossil fuels from renewables, even though large-scale solar and onshore wind are the cheapest form of new energy generation, and they can be brought on line faster than conventional power plants.
Declaring a national energy emergency just after he took office was President Trump’s ploy to favor only energy he likes — and to corruptly reward his fossil-fuel backers.
Stephanie Doba
Brooklyn
Anxiety in Children
To the Editor:
Re “Mental Health Visits for Children Increase” (Science Times, May 26):
I have been a psychotherapist in private practice since 1976, and starting in 2016, I have seen a dramatic increase in anxiety in the children and families I have been working with in New York City.
Children pick up on the emotional and financial stress their parents or caregivers experience. Clearly the pandemic added to this, but unfortunately we have a president who is now increasing the anxiety people are feeling.
My concern is about how many years will it take for our country to become more stable financially as well as emotionally. We have a president who flies off the handle easily and lies constantly. The climate in this country reflects his behavior.
Our families and children are suffering as a result. They need all the support and guidance they can get these days.
Beth Rosen
Bronx
