Hey, Ginsburg critics, the Supreme Court is already political

To the editor: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s “efforts to keep the court separate from the poisonous partisan politics of Washington” have a long way to go if he wants the Supreme Court to move on after it voted along political lines in favor of George W. Bush in Bush vs. Gore, which decided the 2000 election. (“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg apologizes for ‘ill-advised’ criticism of Donald Trump,” July 14)

Plus, over the years we have seen politics in many decisions coming from the high court, so let’s stop trying to make Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recent statements on presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump such an issue.

There is nothing in the code of conduct for federal judges that prevents members of the high court from actually speaking their minds. So let’s look at the bigger picture and acknowledge that the Supreme Court is political, and it’s no wonder the public can’t accept its more controversial opinions.

Conrad Corral, Cathedral City

..

To the editor: The article says Ginsburg issued an “apology” for her comments critical of Trump.

She did not apologize to Trump; rather, she said she had been “ill-advised” to comment publicly because she is a judge.

There’s no need for Ginsburg to apologize to Trump, since what she said about him was accurate. If the other institutions of our democracy had sooner and more forcefully spoken out, it is unlikely that she would have been moved to criticize Trump publicly.

That includes the media. Unfortunately, far too many participants in an ever-shorter news cycle speak with very little regard for the traditional standards of journalism. Also unfortunately, far too few citizens even consult media that conform to sound journalistic standards.

John C. Nangle, Palm Springs

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook