Not Everyone Happy with Activist Judges.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
(SNN) Recently many people have become upset with judges interpreting the law. Conservative leaders met in Washington yesterday and discussed “remedies to Judicial Tyranny”. Currently a bill sits in the House and the Senate that would alter the scope of the courts.
It seems unfathomable that we should not be able to execute children
The conservative panel in Washington yesterday was an example of Judicial Activism in action. The conservatives were devastated that a judge appointed by the liberal poster child Ronald Reagan had ruled it was cruel and unusual to give the death penalty to children because of what was done in other countries. It seems unfathomable that we should not be able to execute children just because they say it is immoral in Iran.
In addition to the meeting in Washington, Tom DeLay has blamed the death of Terry Schiavo on unaccountable judges. "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today," said DeLay. DeLay added that courts "thumbed their nose at Congress and the president.” It has even been suggested that DeLay may push for impeachment of the judges involved. DeLay concluded by twirling the corners of his moustache and saying, “You will rue the day you messed with Tom DeLay.”
A bar fight should have only got me 60 days tops.
Mortimer Wantow III of Bloomington, IN, also disapproves of the unaccountability of judges. Last year, Wantow was given 180 days in jail for assault, a sentence he considers cruel and unjust. “All I did was call the judge an a**h*le. And I did suggest that he may have had sexual relations with his mother. A bar fight should have only got me 60 days tops.” Wantow claims that the judge in his case, Judge Arlen Spent was unfairly influenced by Wantow’s language. “Now, I’m not saying that name calling is the right thing to do in a court of law, but a judge has a responsibility to treat people fairly, even if he is a M*th*rf**ker.”, added Wantow.
If these trends continue, legislators may find it necessary to instate some sort of judicial review mechanism. It has long been suggested that judicial decisions should not be the last word, and that citizens should have the right to appeal a sentence. Some have even suggested that for extreme cases, appeals should be overturned by the Supreme Court. This would be a nice duty for the Supreme Court, which has little else to do.
