Category Archives: Constitution

The nation’s founders realized that judges wouldn?t always be right, but they nevertheless insisted that they be independent. In the system they created, majority rule stops where the Bill of Rights begins. If judges weren?t shielded from the political passions of the day, the founders knew the Bill of Rights would quickly become the "Set of Suggestions."
Continue reading “Assault on Judges”

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There has been no dearth of reaction, pro and con, to the Supreme Court?s ruling striking down sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas. But while gay rights activists were understandably elated by the ruling, it really wasn?t about gay rights at all. It was a decision about the proper role of the state.
Continue reading “Scalia and the Culture War”

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There is an old joke that goes something like this: How do you find a needle in a haystack? Why, you burn down the haystack. It?s reminiscent of the infamous Viet Nam explanation that ?We had to burn the village down in order to save it.?
Continue reading “Patriot Games”

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If there is one clear distinction between western constitutional systems and the various dictatorships and theocracies around the globe, it is the formers’ emphasis on process. Indeed, we might justifiably characterize our Bill of Rights as a restatement of your mother’s admonition that how you do something is just as important as what you choose to do. ?The ends do not justify the means? is a fundamental American precept.
Continue reading “Ends and Means”

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There is an old joke that goes something like this: How do you find a needle in a haystack? Why, you burn down the haystack. The joke is unfortunately reminiscent of the infamous Viet Nam explanation that ?We had to burn the village down in order to save it.? In the wake of 9/11, the concern of every American has to be that we root out terrorists without burning down the constitutional village. And so far, the omens are not good.
Continue reading “Terrorism and the Constitution”

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