[d-ray657]

I won't go as far as WGRR with respect to the direct corruption of current justices on the SCOTUS. The corruption is more systemic.

The establishment is able to afford the most able and effective representation, although not all of the able and effective lawyers are for sale.

The Fourteenth Amendment contained an equal protection clause designed to assure that freed slaves would be able to enjoy the full protection of the law afforded to their former owners. In the fifty years that followed it's passage, the vast majority of the equal protection challenges that made it to the Supreme Court involved involved corporations challenging economic regulations that states had enacted to curb corporate power. During those years, the SCOTUS heard two cases brought on behalf of racial minorities who had not received the equal protection of the law.

Folks who have clerked for the Supreme Court or appellate judges are in significant demand - and such individuals are quite likely to be quite able practitioners. The folks who are most able to compete for the services of such individuals are those who are already well-heeled. The system seems to direct the best legal talent toward the best funded enterprises. The pool of people representing the moneyed interests also dominates the pool of those from whom judicial appointments are made. The world view among those who hold positions on the bench and among those who practice before the courts is therefore inclined to the interests of those with money.

A Republican administration, particularly with its fealty toward the moneyed class, faces significant pressure to nominate judiciary candidates who are loyal to the interests of the financial elites. A Democratic administration is drawing from a similar pool of candidates, but is more likely to nominate a person who does not have absolute fealty to the members of the corporate plutocracy. This collection of circumstances allows the president to exercise influence well beyond the end of his term. That is not the only, but certainly a sufficient reason for concern about the type of judges a Romney, Cain, or any of the GOP candidates would nominate when given the chances.

Regards,

D-Ray