Judicial Branch

Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/35813.html  "America doesn't need another liberal judge" REP. Lamar Smith, April 15, 2010





Constitutional Connect:

     


Analysis of the Connection:


              Since Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens retired, Pres. Barack Obama has an oppurtunity to replace him with the most liberal judge he can find of the past 35 years with a more mainstream jurist committed to interpreting (not rewriting) the U.S. Constitution. President Barack Obama has already decided that he will fill Stevens' vacancy with someone that has similar qualities. By doing this he will be replacing a liberal justice with another liberal justice. There is nothing that requires a president to think about the political leanings of a departing justice when nominating a replacement. A new liberal justice could lead to future decisions that continue to take away personal property rights, put the Second Amendment's protections in jeopardy, weaken our national security and advance a radical agenda.

              
             A nominee with “similar qualities” to Stevens would likely vote to put restrictions on individual Americans’ Second Amendment right to lawful gun ownership. in past happenings, when the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to strike down the District of Columbia’s prohibition on gun ownership in D.C. v. Heller, Stevens wrote a harsh disconsent concluding, “There is no indication that the Framers of the [Second] Amendment intended to enshrine the common-law right of self-defense in the Constitution.” John Paul Stevens argued that the right to bear arms was only for militias, not individual citizens. Fortunately, the narrow majority in this case disagreed.

             Also Stevens supplied a crucial vote that gave Osama bin Laden’s chauffeur the right to challenge his detention at Guantanamo, and avoid trial before a congressionally created military commission.

The Hamdan opinion which was written by Stevens, expands the judicial branch’s protection of terrorists’ rights and weakens the president’s ability with the help of Congress, to enact national security laws that keep America safe. As our nation continues to face the threat of terrorism, we cannot afford a Supreme Court nominee who would vote to weaken our national security.


            In my opinion, if we get another liberal justice like Stevens, our country will be in even more bad shape than it is now. With the new ideas of another liberal things that congress is trying to surpress can dramatically get passed as laws. By bringing a conservative justice in there migth be a little more caution and thinking before jumping right into action and throwing the traditional laws of the Constitution out of the box. With Stevens gone this an opportunity to either make a very good change or a very bad mistake. I think our President should look more carefully at the facts before making a decison.
             The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise. The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities as widely divergent as those of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Including members of the armed forces, the Executive Branch employs more than 4 million Americans.