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Americans United for Separation of Church and State - Orange County |
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Judicial Appointment IssuesJudicial Power, the Protector of Liberty
As a result, tremendous power is vested in a judge, especially a Supreme Court Justice, to interpret which of our laws prevail when they come in conflict. They do this not only through reading of the law, but also through studying prior cases that argued similar conflicts and where the courts had reached a reasoned resolution.
The first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, assures us of our fundamental freedoms. The interpretation of these rights, and their applicability to such diverse issues as internet privacy, wireless phone tapping, abortion, or school vouchers must be made based upon the principles of freedom and justice that our founding fathers intended. It is these ten amendments, not the Ten Commandments, that form the bedrock of our free society. The qualifications of appointments to both the Appellate Court and Supreme Court are critical to our freedom and democracy. We must assure that each nominee is scrutinized carefully, because these are life long appointments that will shape the character of our nation for decades. |
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Our Constitution vests power in three branches of government, the executive,
the legislative, and judicial. Each has its own duty to uphold the
Constitution, but the ultimate interpretation of our liberties rests within the
judicial branch. It is within the court that the law is applied to
criminal and civil cases brought before it. It is the interpretation and
applicability of those laws, especially where laws overlap or conflict, that
challenges a judge. In the appellate courts, including the Supreme Court,
cases are almost never about the evidence in the case, but about the conduct of the
trial and the application of the law.
Probably the most important resolution of the law is when the law comes in
conflict with the Constitution. Our Constitution is over two centuries
old, yet has only been amended a couple of dozen times. It has endured
wars, including a civil war, depressions, the industrial revolution, and the
internet. Its principles of freedom are based upon the revolutionary
concept that the government derives its rights from the consent of the governed.