Dear Trump: Appoint Judge Andrew Napolitano to the Supreme Court
For anyone that considers themselves liberty-minded, the choice for the Supreme Court should be as clear as day. Andrew Peter Napolitano is not only the best choice for Supreme Court Justice, he would quite possibly be the best pick to hold any elected office, in any capacity, anywhere. A constitutional scholar with roots in Rothbardian libertarianism, Judge Napolitano has quite literally written the book on how to sell libertarianism to the masses. So as many of us are familiar with the face, the name, and the message, let’s delve a little deeper into the man and his qualifications.
Born to Italian-American parents in Newark, NJ in 1950, Napolitano came from humble means. He earned his B.A from Princeton and received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law. He was admitted to the NJ bar in 1975 upon graduation. He litigated cases in private practice for about 5 years before taking a professorship at Delaware Law School. He was then elected to Superior Court Judge in 1987 and served the Constitution in the originalist sense faithfully until 1995. He was the youngest sitting Superior Court judge in the state’s history. His many authored decisions have been strictly in line with his principles, time and time again. He issued opinions declaring DUI checkpoints unconstitutional, suppressed evidence relating to victimless drug crimes, and even went as far as to apply a frivolous claim statute against the state itself. A constitutional libertarian in a heavily blue state, Napolitano was a bulwark of individual ownership and loved by both sides of the aisle. After resigning his judgeship in 1995, he reentered the world of private litigation and academia. He maintained a private practice and served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University from 1988-2000.
Napolitano then set his eye on spreading the message of liberty to the population writ large. After a series of several guest spots and co-hosting gigs, Napolitano founded the most libertarian television show bar none, Freedom Watch, which aired daily on the Fox Business Channel (*side note* Freedom Watch is also where Austin Petersen first debuted his talents in the movement as Executive Producer). The show predicated itself upon bringing a strict “libertarian” approach to politics, putting Fox’s usual Republican leanings to the wind. He had guests such as Ron Paul, Tom Woods, Adam Kokesh, and Lew Rockwell. He talked about topics such as the founding era and enlightenment principles, unconstitutional jurisprudence, and Austrian economics. He gave credence to thinkers such as Jefferson, Hayek, Rand, Mises, Rothbard, and Nozick. From soup to nuts, Napolitano bucked the establishment and remained loyal to values of liberty.
Unfortunately, with election season approaching and the Republican rally cries becoming resounding, there became little use in having a pro-liberty and pro-constitution voice in a prime-time slot, especially when the network was attempting to rally its viewers behind John McCain. Freedom Watch ended in 2012 with Napolitano becoming Fox’s “Senior Judicial Analyst”. Since then he has provided a voice of clarity and diversity of opinion on networks such as Fox, CNN, Comedy Central, and Fox Business and CNBC.
In terms of judicial positions, Napolitano is one of the most well-known contemporary pro-life advocates. He has fought that constitutional precedent dictates that same sex marriage should be legalalized and has authored articles in favor of getting rid of state funded marriage altogether. He opposes capital punishment and believes the founders intent was a complete separation of Church and State. More recently, Napolitano berated both Presidents Bush and Obama for their handling of the conflicts in the Middle East. On a historical note, Napolitano has also been a strong dissenter from the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and has strongly attacked the constitutional precedent left by Lincoln’s presidency that eviscerated habeus corpus, state sovereignty and due process of law. Moreover, Napolitano has authored 9 books that can aptly be described as assorted. From bemoaning the lack of constitutional authority of judicial action, to calling out the NSA’s spy program, to highlighting Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt as founders of the modern Progressive era, Napolitano has extrapolated his philosophy and influenced millions through his NY Time bestsellers.
President Trump has already met with Judge Napolitano twice in the past few months. Could it possibly be happening? If you consider yourself a constitutional conservative, a libertarian, or classical liberal, the choice for the Supreme Court couldn’t be any more obvious. To conclude, let me offer one more fun fact; if Napolitano is appointed to Justice of the Supreme Court, he would be the highest ranking official in the Libertarian Party. How’s that for representation?
