U.S. Courts May Face Their Ultimate Test After Tuesday | Opinion

Two-hundred and thirty-five years ago, in September 1789, Congress passed the United States Judiciary Act and George Washington signed it. It established the federal court system and committed this country to the rule of law.
It was timely. Startling news had only recently arrived from France. Mobs there had paraded through the streets with pikes on top of which were the heads of the first government officials to die lawlessly, ruthlessly, and interminably in that country’s revolution. Thousands more followed, leaving France with economic chaos, dictatorship, and declining power.
Our founders were smarter. The Judiciary Act was the fulfillment of the long-standing dream of then-Vice President John Adams of “a government of laws and not of men.”
Adams went on to be the first president to live in the White House. His blessing is carved into the mantel of the State Dining Room. It reads: “I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof.”
Let’s ask ourselves today, will a wise and honest man rule in the White House if we elect former President Donald Trump? Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies in addition to having been found to have committed rape, fraud, and insurrection. He is accused of making off with the nation’s secrets and hiding them in his bathroom. In Georgia and Washington, DC, he is charged with trying to defraud the American people out of electing the president of their choice.
Trump dishonored his nomination for president by using it to hawk for his own profit sneakers, bibles, watches, and crypto currency. He has foretold bloodshed if he loses the election and revenge on his enemies if he wins. He has been repudiated by his own former vice president, chiefs of staff, military chiefs, and a spokesperson. They and a host of other Trump associates warn that he is deeply dangerous and dishonest.
Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, is our vice president, a former prosecutor, and a state attorney general. No hint of dishonesty has tarnished her, and she is pledged to the rule of law. Would Adams have preferred a deeply dishonorable man in the White House over an honorable woman?
Tuesday, Nov. 5, is America’s stress test. Do we prize honesty? Are we dedicated to what former President George W. Bush described as “trust over cynicism, of community over chaos”?
What’s at stake is personal for you. Chaos nationally breeds chaos locally and economically. Nobody will protect your home and freedom when the rule of law is lost. Just ask ordinary Russians living under President Vladimir Putin, and remember how hard Putin is working to elect his biggest fan as your president and his puppet.
If Donald Trump wins a clear victory, the election will end peacefully and without false claims of fraud from Harris. The lawlessness will begin later. But if Donald Trump loses the election, the legal system must stand firm in the face of fake fraud claims that will follow no matter how clear the result is.
Thankfully, we have an honest legal system. It has fumbled and floundered in dealing with the serious cases against Trump. But in election cases, so far, it has been the rock that broke the wave of Trump lawsuits. He lost more than 60 bogus cases following the 2020 election, and his supporters have already filed 130 lawsuits about this election. With typical cynicism, Trump then and now has tried to use false claims of election fraud to commit actual election fraud.
So, its time now for the courts to be the rock of American democracy. The lower courts must brace themselves to make fast and fair rulings. The United States Supreme Court should be firm and timely about the outcome, if called upon. It shouldn’t act too soon as it did in stopping Florida recounts in 2000 nor should it allow its silence to breed uncertainty as it did in 2020. Had the court affirmatively declared Joe Bidenthe 2020 winner, we might have been spared an insurrection. Here’s hoping that, if they are needed this November, our courts will be our rock and salvation.
Thomas G. Moukawsher is a former Connecticut complex litigation judge and a former co-chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Employee Benefits. He is the author of the new book, The Common Flaw: Needless Complexity in the Courts and 50 Ways to Reduce It.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.