Last week former President Bill Clinton was finally beginning to feel reprieve for some of his dishonest acts as president. The Supreme Court began its recent session on Monday and disbarred Clinton from that court’s bar association. Although these actions will probably never actually affect the former commander in chief, they are quite embarrassing.
The Supreme Court is not the first court to disbar Clinton. The state of Arkansas did so after the Paula Jones hearings. Therefore, this ruling may not have come as a big surprise to Clinton. The former president has been given 40 days to appeal the disbarment, but a CNN legal analyst said it is unlikely the decision will change.
It is about time Clinton is faced with the consequences of his actions. If any other individual lied on the stand as our former president did, they would have been at least convicted of perjury. He was and still is an embarrassment to our nation. Clinton humiliated our nation in front of the whole world as he made a mockery of our judicial system. It is only fitting that the one thing he took from our nation is now being taken from him–dignity. Of course, Clinton is being treated no differently than any other man who cheats on his wife. Although not disbarred by the Supreme Court, an unfaithful husband is embarrassed in public as he is taken to court and is stripped of possessions, the right to visit his children and his pride. Because of the political agenda of his wife, these things were not taken from Clinton.
However, the Supreme Court is now seeing to it that his unlawful actions are punished. For most men of Clinton’s stature, public humiliation would be a terrible punishment. Yet, I am not sure it will even faze the former president. He has definitely been subject to public humiliation before and proven himself to be quite resilient and stubborn in the eyes of public scrutiny. Now, he is being punished to the highest possible extent a lawyer can be without going to jail. It is an honor to go to trial before the Supreme Court. Few lawyers ever get this chance, but many dream of it. Clinton has lost this privilege.
It is not hard for the Supreme Court to justify its decision in my eyes. It is only fair that this court receive the honor of casting down a judgment upon Clinton. Since Clinton has proven himself untrustworthy in the past, it seems only logical that the court could not trust him in the future. The risk of having him appear before the court as a lawyer is high, considering that as a defendant, he was dishonest.
I must admit I have never been a fan of Clinton. I know I have my biases, but this decision seems fair. It brings back the faith I once had in our legal system before the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. It makes me feel as if justice has been done and that just because one is president he is not above the law.
I am proud of our Supreme Court and happy to see that they have taken the proper measures to see that they are not lied to again. The once prominent leader is left to wonder about his future as I was left to wonder about the future of our legal system a few years ago when he destroyed any dignity it once had. I am excited to see that the law has won and has not taken a back seat to anyone. This decision shows that one man is not above our system that was laid forth over 220 years ago. It is comforting to know that we can count on our Supreme Court to render fair decisions that are unbiased and give a fair trial and equal opportunity to all who come before it.