Justice and Law

Great nations, it is said, are not destroyed from without until they are weakened from within. With the myriad of topics and grave national discussions this country is engaged in the most far reaching effect of this next election has been obscured. The opinion of the judges appointed during the coming presidency, particularly those placed on the Supreme Court, will shape the way our constitution is understood and enacted upon well into the next century. The effects of which will be felt long after the next president, with all his promises and hopes, passes into history.
The basic stability of our country is based on the simple not overly long document, ratified by the states, known as the United States Constitution. It enumerates ways which laws can be enacted and repealed; defines the rights of its citizen; and lays out a system of checks and balances which have brought this country, in the span of roughly two hundred years, from a new world back water to unarguably the greatest power on earth. The continued belief in and protection of the Constitution is an integral part of ensuring that our Republic remains the potent force and garuntee of freedom that it has become. As Thomas Jefferson said, "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. "

The major candidates presented two stark interpretations of the judges necessary to maintain our rights and check any unlawful usurpation of power. Senator Obama believed in a "living constitution" that is a constitution whose interpretation changes over time. Senator Mccain believed in strict constitutionalism or in a "dead constitution" that is an interpretation where the founders "original intent" is given heavy weight. Now the idea of a living constitution is on the surface an atractive one. It allows a judge to take present mores into account and allows him or her greater leeway in correcting wrongs that are not specifically noted in the constitution. It is this changing understanding of the prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment" that evolves the methods by which we execute our prisoners, from strait forward hanging and firing squads to the use of more ingenous gases and injections. Of course, there is a great danger in this method, because just as such leeway can be used to do good above and beyond the letter of the law, it can just as easily be used to commit evil. The proper role of Judges is to interpet the laws that are passed by the legislative branch, not create new rights or penalties based on their own opinions. Some judges have begun to site the rulings of foreign courts, like those in Zimbabwe, as a justification for their decisions, this is completely wrong. The temptation is great to cheer the appointment of those judges that will act in accord with one's political persuasion, but Democrat and Republican alike should fear the increasing power that is placed in the hands of these unelected officals. If new rights are needed or old laws are wanting, the best place for change is in the ballot box.