Posted by
JayPeriod on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 4:16:44 PM
We have all read the news stories of activist judges making laws in their own image from the bench. We also know of the judges who determine that punishment and jail time are unnecessary. Do we realize that these actions are destroying the Constitution?
Today, in my hometown, a local judge handed down a three year sentence for a man in his mid-40s who raped a 16-year-old boy, exposing him to HIV. The jury gave him an 18-year sentence last fall, but today he was told he would only serve three years of that.
These kinds of stories cause us to become very angry. As a result, we contact our legislators, demanding tougher mandatory sentences. Also, when we see activist judges rewriting the law, we demand that our representatives pass tougher laws that will overturn what these judges have done. The unfortunate result of such actions is to undermine the Constitution.
When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they clearly stated the roles of each branch of government. They detailed what the Legislative branch and Judicial branch were responsible for. Now, the Legislative branch is being asked to overstep its bounds, such as telling judges the minimum sentence for crimes. Clearly, that should be the sole discretion of the judges, but since they are derelict in their duties, we must intervene.
The end result of these actions could be very detrimental, indeed. If we end up making the Judicial branch irrelevant, we undermine the whole justice system. Yet, if we take no action, it becomes irrelevant and undermined, anyway. Therefore, we must demand that judges who are either appointed or elected, pledge to uphold true justice. We can look no further than the days of our founding for examples. Punishment was harsh and constant. There was little leniency. It was meant to send the message that actions against society would not be tolerated. We must send that message again.