United States must protect dignity of every person Judicial restraint important to stable business climate
In America, we have freedom of expression and the freedom to disagree. Our Founding Fathers disagreed, but were able to compromise. We might not agree but we can act civilly and work for the betterment of all people. The 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th amendments to the Constitution gave freedom to people of color and women.
Women came up just short of establishing freedom in an Equal Rights Amendment. We have the freedom to establish, as Abraham Lincoln said, “A new birth of freedom.”
Let us work and talk with each other to see the dignity and worth of every human being.
Chuck Steinbower, Columbus
Judicial restraint isn’t a term we think about regularly, but as we consider our choices for the Ohio Supreme Court, we should remember why it’s important.
Judicial restraint describes one of two principal judicial philosophies, the other being judicial activism. Judges who employ judicial restraint make judgments based on the law and stay within their constitutionally defined lanes, whereas activist judges create law from the bench, thereby usurping the powers of our elected legislators who are accountable to the public.
Judges practicing judicial restraint are disciplined. They say, “To be a judge you must be prepared to make decisions upholding policies you may disagree with, because that’s the law as passed by the legislature.”
Twenty years ago, Ohio had an activist Supreme Court. Its members were unapologetic about using their power to impose their own policy preferences on the rest of us, sending a signal to the nation that Ohio had an out-of-control, anti-business court, hostile to Ohio’s job creators and defiant of our General Assembly.
After years of economic harm, Ohioans rejected the activist court, and over two election cycles, Ohioans put in place a majority of justices who saw their jobs as interpreting the law, not creating it. These justices exercised judicial restraint, and that’s why, for almost two decades, Ohioans and Ohio businesses have enjoyed a stable, predictable business climate where job creators can expect consistency out of the courts without the risk that some judge will simply rewrite law based on their own ideology. Ohioans heading to the polls today should know that Justices Sharon Kennedy and Judi French have consistently demonstrated judicial restraint throughout their careers.
This stable, predictable legal climate is vital to all of us and is a key ingredient of a stable business climate and therefore a healthy job climate.
Patrick J. Tiberi, president and CEO, Ohio Business Roundtable, Columbus