Jeanne Hey discusses post-Scalia politics as guest on MPBNās āMaine Callingā
On February 24, Jeanne Hey, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was a featured guest on MPBNās āMaine Callingā program to discuss āThe Supreme Court after Scalia.ā
Hey and the other guests on the show, Dmitry Bam, professor at the University of Maine School of Law, and Joseph Reisert, associate professor of constitutional law at Colby College, commented on the political squabbling that ensued after the unexpected death of Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia.
āItās a new step in politicizing this third branch of government,ā Hey stated. āWe already have a completely politicizedāalmost dysfunctionalālegislative branch. We have an executive branch that almost by definition is politicalā¦But the judiciary has always stood as this third branch that is outside of politics to the extent that it canā¦ā
She continued: āSo now, to have this fight in an election year, so long before Obama steps down, and to be so blatantly political about it, I think, is another dangerous step towards the really nasty political culture that we see in the United States.ā