CONTACT CAROLINE
facebook
rss
tumblr
twitter
goodreads
youtube

  • Home
  • Write Away Blog
  • Books
    • Books
    • Trompe l’Oeil
    • Heart Land
    • Gothic Spring
    • Ballet Noir
    • Book Excerpts
  • Video Interviews
  • Press
    • News
    • Print Interviews
    • Plays
    • Ballet Noir in the Press
    • Trompe l’Oeil In The Press
    • Gothic Spring In The Press
    • Heart Land Reviews
  • Contact
  • About
  • Resources
    • Writer Resources
    • Favorite Blogs
    • Favorite Artists



Light Reading On Court Stripping

Nov 06, 2020
by Caroline Miller
Amy Coney Barrett, checks and balances between government branches, court stripping, David Yaffe-Bellany, John Roberts, Maybury vs. Madison, Roe vs. Wade, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, U. S. Supreme Court, U.S. Constituion
0 Comment

Courtesy of supremecourt.gov

Donald Trump’s Reign of Error has left some positive residue. It got people to vote in large numbers, and it also got them to consider the meaning of “checks and balances” with reference to the U. S. Constitution. Congress, particularly the Senate, hasn’t provided much of a civics lesson on that point, but what about the Supreme Court?  Did it insulate the country from presidential overreach?  According to some pundits, its performance has been a mixed bag. 

The authority of the Supreme Court is enshrined in Article 111, Section 2 of the  Constitution. It gives that body the power to determine what are issues of law are and rule accordingly. (“Maybury vs. Madison”)  Historically, neither the White House nor Congress have been comfortable with its jurisdiction and have tried to provide oversight through judicial appointments.  Amy Coney Barrett’s is a recent example. Ultra-conservative, she replaces an ultra-liberal judge, Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Congressional Democrats are rattled by the conservative shift the new appointee brings to the Court. They talk of remedies like increasing the number of justices or initiating term limits for judges. Congress has the authority to regulate the Courts under the “exception” clause of section ii, an effort to ensure an elected body has final jurisdiction over an appointed one. 

In 1982, after Roe v. Wade, a young lawyer, looking for a third way to reign-in the courts, made an unorthodox proposal. (“Pack the Supreme Court, or Stripe Its Powers?”  by David Yaffe-Bellany, Bloomberg Businessweek, October 12, 2020, pgs. 36-37.)   Under the exception clause, he argued Congress could regulate what cases came before the high court and which did not. In today’s world, for example, if Congress wanted to pass a sweeping “Green New Deal,” but feared a conservative Supreme Court would overturn it, legislators could add language to the bill that exempted it from the high court’s oversight. That would strip the judiciary of its jurisdiction.

A snag exists, however. Article 111 gives the Supreme Court the power to determine what is “law” and “equity” which means, according to Maybury vs. Madison, the Court has the right to decide what is law and could exercise that right.  The inevitable battle between the branches of government would weaken our democracy, so no one as yet has had the stomach to play that gambit. But times change.

A discussion about the Constitution is apt to make a person’s eyelids grow heavy, instilling the need for a nap.  But not to worry.  Even a Constitutional crisis has its ironies and bits of humor. Take that young lawyer who was so incensed by Roe v. Wade that he proposed to strip the high court of its power, for example.  His name is John Roberts. Yes, that one! The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

“O, what a tangled web we weave…” (Walter Scott.)

Social Share

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

*
*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Buy This Book on Amazon


“Heart Land: A Place Called Ockley Green” is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The novel is also available as an eBook (Kindle and Nook.


Or buy directly from the publisher by clicking on the “Buy Now” button below.

Heart Land




Image of author Caroline Miller


Interview: Caroline Miller on Back Page with Jody Seay

Banner art “The Receptive” by Charlie White of Charlie White Studio

Web Admin: ThinPATH Systems, Inc
support@tp-sys.com

Subscribe to Caroline's Blog


 

Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Sitemap | Privacy Notice

AUDIO & VIDEO VAULT

View archives of Caroline’s audio and videos interviews.


Copyright © Books by Caroline Miller