tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379800.post112593769671512668..comments2023-10-11T09:43:52.325-04:00Comments on Truth, Lies and Common Sense: Some judges do make constitutional law * but it's NOT their jobUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379800.post-1125965663224846172005-09-05T20:14:00.000-04:002005-09-05T20:14:00.000-04:00Thanks for being the first to comment since I went...Thanks for being the first to comment since I went back to the blogger comments.<BR/><BR/>You make good points, but it is still better to pick judges that attempt to minimize power. Judges that know they don't make the laws.<BR/><BR/>Also I learned a new word today. I never heard of macdinking before, you used it well.<BR/><BR/>Cheers!Walthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00481038847107718118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8379800.post-1125944019786933922005-09-05T14:13:00.000-04:002005-09-05T14:13:00.000-04:00Unfortunately, the argument of "strict" judicial i...Unfortunately, the argument of "strict" judicial interpretation falls in the face of the original precedent -- the Supreme Court's own Marbury vs. Madison, where Chief Justice John Marshall established the right and duty of the courts to interpret the law. And Justice Marshall drew his precedent for that from established practice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which had been in existence before the federal court.<BR/><BR/>In truth, the courts have always had the power and duty to say what the law is. And if some worry about the "lack of a check on the Judiciary," then be reassured by the actual existence of one -- the ability of Congress to reframe the law in specific language to cover the situation in question. The more precise they are in definition, the less likely they are to fail constitutional scrutiny by the courts. As an instance, if I recall correctly, the broadness of the Exon amendments were the problem that made the courts strike them down -- with "conservative" justices voting in favor of the unconstitutionality.<BR/><BR/>So-called "activist" judging has been with the Republic since the beginning, and no amount of macdinking the courts from one side to the other will end it.Bruce -- Harper Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12292004685363135741noreply@blogger.com