The Republican-Appointed Judge Decrying Trump's 'Deeply Disturbing' Attacks on the Rule of Law
When Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick is worried about our constitutional order, we should all pay heed.
Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick is nobody's idea of a "Marxist judge."
He was appointed to the bench in 2016 by conservative Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R). Before that, Bolick spent decades in the trenches of the conservative and libertarian legal movements. As a young lawyer in the Reagan administration, Bolick worked with Clarence Thomas, who became a close friend and godfather to one of his sons. As a public interest litigator, Bolick battled affirmative action, championed school choice, advocated federalism, and helped to overturn a host of economic regulations.
Yet now Bolick is drawing fire from prominent supporters of President Donald Trump. Why? Because Bolick has spoken out against what he views as the Trump administration's dangerous attacks on the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.
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As first reported in a detailed and illuminating article by Taylor Seely of the Arizona Republic, Bolick delivered a passionate speech in May before a gathering of the Society for the Rule of Law, a group focused on "rising threats posed by illiberal forces in our society, without regard to political party or partisan affiliation."
"The idea that right-of-center lawyers would have to join together to defend the rule of law, sometimes against people who describe themselves as constitutional conservatives, is just really head-spinning to me. It's almost dystopian," Bolick told the group. In fact, "when I think of people wrapping themselves in the Constitution while they are simultaneously doing violence to it, it makes me wish that I was back in private practice again so that I could represent the Constitution in a defamation action."
Nor did Bolick leave any doubt that his outrage was directed in significant part against the behavior of the Trump administration.
"Due process is the most foundational legal principle protecting individual liberty in Western civilization. It dates back to the Magna Carta," Bolick observed. Yet "we have seen the words due process appear in quotes repeatedly, as if this concept was created by rogue liberal judges to help illegal immigrants stay in the country."
Bolick was almost certainly referring here to Vice President J.D. Vance, a leading offender when it comes to putting due process in scare quotes.
Bolick also brought up the "deeply disturbing" words of "a high-ranking administration official" who said that the White House was "actively looking" at the "option" of suspending the writ of habeas corpus.
Bolick did not identify that official either. But he was clearly referring to White House adviser Stephen Miller. In addition to threatening to suspend habeas corpus, Miller also said that following through on such a threat "depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not."
As Bolick recognized, that comment may have been an effort by the Trump administration "to intimidate the courts to reach decisions that they favor." And that, Bolick said, "is really scary stuff."
In a sane political climate, Bolick's words of warning would be big news in conservative media. After all, he is a highly respected Republican-appointed jurist with a lengthy track record as a textualist. His resume and accomplishments should earn him a fair hearing from "his side" of the political aisle.
Yet as the Arizona Republic reports, the conservative response so far to Bolick's speech has been a barely veiled political threat. "Justice Clint Bolick should stay out of the political arena," declared Mike Davis, the head of the pro-Trump Article III Project. "When judges take off their judicial robes, climb into the political arena, and throw political punches, they should expect political counterpunches," Davis told the Arizona Republic.
The fact that Bolick delivered this speech at this time suggests that he is ready for the fisticuffs. "Standing up for the rule of law and the independent judiciary, no matter who is attacking it, is an absolute priority," Bolick declared, before adding, "count me in."
Bolick is a principled legal thinker and one of the genuine good guys in American law. If he is worried about the health of our constitutional order, we should all pay heed.