In a sequel to the column quoted yesterday, Thomas ("He’s So Smart") Sowell continued to address the theme of judicial tyranny.
EXCERPTS:
One of the big confusions in the impending Senate fight over the confirmation of judicial nominees is that this is an issue about "liberal" judges versus "conservative" judges. The vastly more important issue is whether people who go into court should expect their cases to be decided on the basis of the law or on the basis of the particular judge’s own philosophy.
The more we can keep judges’ philosophy out of our legal system, the more we approach the ideal of "a government of laws and not of men."
The issue of judicial activism is not just an issue of the moment. It is an enduring issue of great moment because it means the erosion of the American people’s Constitutional right to govern themselves. If activist judges are allowed to continue to become increasingly our real rulers, what are elections for? Just to provide jobs for politicians?
Public acceptance of judicial coups has only led to increasing audacity in words and deeds by activist judges.
Justice AnthonyDarth Kennedy’s recent decision banning the execution of murderers under the age of 18 was a classic case in point. It was based, he said, on "evolving standards" and a "national consensus," as well as on what people were saying in other countries. Even if all of this were true, none of these things is statutory law, much less the Constitution of the United States.It is incidental that these things are not all true. What do pretty words like "evolving standards" mean except that some people agree with you, even if the law says nothing of the sort? As for a "national consensus," we have elections to determine that and judges have no special expertise as pollsters.
What all this vaguely romantic verbiage boils down to is that judges can treat the Constitution as simply a grant of power to act as philosopher kings and respond to whatever constituency they prefer to the voting public. That is lawless law.
Such judicial behavior is not going to stop until it gets stopped.
