SCOTUS Goes Beyond Borders

SCOTUS Goes Beyond Borders

In a very scary break with tradition, precedent, and rules, the SCOTUS has used international laws and treaties to form their rulings. Correct if I am wrong, but isn't the SCOTUS supposed to decide cases based on the Consitution of the United States? Aren't their rulings supposed to reflect the society within our borders? Scary indeed.

Ginsburg: Int'l Law Shaped Court Rulings

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court is looking beyond America's borders for guidance in handling cases on issues like the death penalty and gay rights, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (news - web sites) said Saturday.

The justices referred to the findings of foreign courts this summer in their own ruling that states may not punish gay couples for having sex.
And in 2002, the court said that executing mentally retarded people is unconstitutionally cruel. That ruling noted that the practice was opposed internationally.