THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 69, April 4, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE U.S. FEDERAL COURTS & ACTIVIST FEDERAL JUDGES:
THE IMPERIAL JUDICIARY
By Dr. Ron Paul
UNBRIDLED JUDICIAL ACTIVISM: ACTIVIST FEDERAL JUDGES IGNORING THE CONSTITUTION & LAWS OF THE UNITED
STATES & DECIDING LEGAL CASES & CONTROVERSIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE JUDGES' OWN PERSONAL POLITICAL VIEWS &
PUBLIC POLICY PREFERENCES, THEREBY USURPING THE LEGISLATIVE FUNCTION & MAKING LAW, RATHER THAN INTERPRETING
& APPLYING EXISTING LAW -- THE POLITICAL & CULTURAL LEFT'S INCREASING USE OF THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY TO DO IN
COURT WHAT IT CANNOT DO AT THE BALLOT BOX OR IN CONGRESS & THE STATE LEGISLATURES: ADVANCE AN
ULTRA-LIBERAL, ACTIVIST, SECULAR, MULTICULTURAL POLITICAL AGENDA WHICH MOST AMERICANS OPPOSE -- HIGH TIME
FOR CONGRESS TO REASSERT ITS CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY TO DEFINE & RESTRICT THE JURISDICTION OF THE FEDERAL
COURTS, INCLUDING THAT OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT -- THE NEED FOR CONGRESS TO BEGIN IMPEACHING & REMOVING FROM
OFFICE FEDERAL JUDGES WHO DO NOT FOLLOW THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
FULL STORY:
The debate over the constitutional marriage amendment has brought even greater attention to the issue of activist federal judges.
From gay marriage to Boy Scouts to frivolous lawsuits to the Pledge of Allegiance, Americans have grown increasingly distrustful
and suspicious of our federal courts – and rightfully so. Never in our history, have unelected and unaccountable federal judges
wielded more power over our lives.
Judicial activism, the practice of judges ignoring the law and deciding cases on the basis on their personal political views and public
policy preferences, has intensified in the decades since Roe v. Wade (1973). This practice is now standard for many federal
judges. They dismiss the doctrine of strict construction of the United States Constitution as hopelessly outdated and embrace an
extremely broad interpretation of the constitutional powers of the national government, especially those of the U.S. Courts. These
activist federal judges treat the U.S. Constitution as a fluid and malleable document that enables the judges to create a desired
outcome in any given case. For judges who see themselves as social activists, their own vision of justice is more important than
the letter of the laws they are sworn to interpret and uphold. With the federal judiciary focused more on promoting a social agenda
than upholding the rule of law, Americans find themselves increasingly governed by men they did not elect and cannot vote to
remove from office.
But what is to be done? Since many American citizens lack basic knowledge of our Federal Constitution and our federal system of
government, they are easily manipulated by media and academic elites who tell them that the justices, or judges, on the U.S.
Supreme Court are the absolute and final arbiters of U.S. law. But the Supreme Court is not supreme over the other branches of
government; it is supreme only over lower federal courts. If Americans wish to be free of judicial tyranny, they must at least
acquire basic knowledge of the judicial role in our republican government. The present state of affairs is a direct result of our
collective ignorance.
The ultimate solution to the problem of unbridled judicial activism at the federal level is clear: Congress must reassert its
constitutional authority to define and restrict the jurisdiction of federal courts. This power is plainly granted in Article III of the
Constitution, and no constitutional amendments are required. On the contrary, any constitutional amendment addressing judicial
activism would only grant legitimacy to the dangerous idea that social issues are federal matters.
Remember this: When social issues are federalized, Conservatives always lose. Giving more authority over social matters to any
branch of the national government is a mistake, because a centralized government is unlikely to reflect local sentiment for long.
If anything, the marriage amendment would have given the secular and relativistic political and cultural Left an excuse to impose
gay marriage on all of us in future years, since the issue would have been irrefutably federalized.
Congressional cowardice enables judicial activism. Just as Congress ceded far too much legislative authority to presidents
throughout the 20th. century, it similarly has allowed federal judges to operate wildly beyond their constitutional role. In fact,
many current members of Congress apparently accept the false notion that federal court judgments are superior to congressional
statutes. Unless and until Congress asserts itself by limiting federal court jurisdiction, judges will continue to act as de facto
lawmakers.
The political Left increasingly uses the federal judiciary to do in court what it cannot do at the ballot box: advance an activist,
secular, multicultural political agenda of which most Americans disapprove. As a society, we Americans should reconsider the
wisdom of lifetime tenure for federal judges, and pay closer attention to the judicial nomination procedure. It’s time for the
executive and legislative branches of government to show some backbone, appoint judges who follow the Constitution, and
remove those who do not. It’s also time for Congress to start establishing clear limits on federal judicial power.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Legal Issues, Lawyers, & America's Judiciary
U.S. Constitutional Law & Political Philosophy
Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, elected from and representing the Fourteenth
Congressional District of Texas. Congressman Paul is considered to be one of America's leading spokesmen for constitutional
government, the rule of law, liberty under law, the private enterprise system,, free market economics, sound monetary policy, and
fiscal restraint on the part of the U.S. national government.
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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