During Good Behavior

The editors of the Wall Street Journal took stock of Justice Ginsburg’s political advocacy over the last month or so:

It’s important to understand how far out of bounds Justice Ginsburg was in her comments to the New York Times. She barged into the presidential race by saying “I can’t imagine what the country would be with Donald Trump as our president,” joking that her late husband would say they should move to New Zealand if he won. The Justice kept it up in an interview on Monday with CNN, calling Mr. Trump “a faker” and wondering “how has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns?”

Such overt partisanship from a judge should disqualify her from hearing any case related to the presidential election—such as voter ID laws. It would also raise doubts about her fairness in judging executive-branch actions if Mr. Trump becomes President.

Justice Ginsburg further violated judicial norms by lecturing the Senate for not confirming President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. “That’s their job,” she said. “There’s nothing in the Constitution that says the president stops being president in his last year.”

There’s also nothing in the Constitution that says the Senate can’t operate on its own schedule or even that it must vote on a nominee. Judges—especially Justices who are supposed to set a judicial example—are supposed to stay out of such political disputes unless they become controversies that merit adjudication.

going on to catalogue other violations of judicial norms and decorum on Justice Ginsburg’s part.

There are times when being chief justice is no bed of roses and this is one of them. Chief Justice Roberts should direct Justice Ginsburg to undergo physical and psychiatric evaluation to determine her fitness to continue in office. If she refuses he has any number of disciplinary measures within his power to employ, the most severe being to make a formal request of the Congress that she be removed from office, something I think is not yet called for.

Defenses of Justice Ginsburg’s actions have been on a purely partisan basis. There were debates in the Missouri legislature over whether Justice Thomas should be disbarred. Justice Ginsburg’s poor judgment and abandonment of judicial detachment recently are at least at that level.