THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VII, Issue # 67, April 3, 2005
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
JUSTICE ADMINISTERED BY ACTIVIST FEDERAL JUDGES:
WHOSE JUSTICE?
By Dr. Ron Paul
THE LATEST BRAND OF JUDICIAL ACTIVISM: ACTIVIST U.S. FEDERAL JUDGES CONSIDERING & USING FOREIGN &
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL SOURCES WHEN DECIDING CASES, EVEN THOUGH SUCH SOURCES OFTEN CONFLICT WITH THE
CONSTITUTION & LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES -- THE NEED FOR CONGRESS TO EXERCISE ITS CONSTITUTIONAL POWER OVER
THE FEDERAL COURTS & SEND FEDERAL JUDGES A STRONG MESSAGE THAT AMERICANS WILL BE GOVERNED BY AMERICAN
LAWS ONLY & THAT JUDGES WHO VIOLATE THEIR OATH OF OFFICE WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE FEDERAL BENCH
FULL STORY:
Judicial activism, the practice of judges ignoring the law and deciding cases based on their personal political views and public policy
preferences, has been a problem in America since well before the United States Supreme Court invented a right to abortion in Roe v.
Wade (1973). In recent decades, many federal judges have become de facto legislators, substituting their self-presumed wisdom for
the will of the American people's elected Representatives and Senators in the U.S. Congress. In the process, the American people have
lost more and more their ability to influence the laws under which they must live.
Activist federal judges often view the United States Constitution as an anachronism that stands in the way of their visions for “social
justice.” They usually view European Socialism and Statism very positively, and unconditionally believe in the United Nations and
international law. Accordingly, activist judges increasingly are looking outside the U.S.A. for guidance when deciding cases.
This latest brand of judicial activism has a name: “transjudicialism.” Transjudicialism means that American federal judges consider
foreign and international legal sources when deciding cases, even though such sources often conflict directly with our own Federal
Constitution.
As Robert Bork explains, six of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices have either written or joined opinions that favorably cited foreign
authorities. These justices have considered the European Court of Human Rights, various United Nations conventions, international
human rights treaties, and even judicial decisions from India, Jamaica, and Zimbabwe when writing their opinions! Simply put, these
justices are making the incredible argument that American federal courts should consider sources other than U.S. law when deciding
cases. In the words of one justice, the Supreme Court “cannot afford to ignore the rest of the world.”
It’s not hard to see the grave danger posed by this new trend. Anti-gun judges could cite restrictions on gun ownership in other
countries approvingly when disregarding the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Hate speech laws in other nations could
be used as authority to weaken the First Amendment guarantee of the right of Americans to freedom of speech. Our wholly domestic
tax, labor, environmental, and family laws could be influenced by United Nations edicts, foreign court judgments, and international
treaties which have not been ratified by the United States.
The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land in America. Congress needs to exercise its constitutional power over federal
courts and send judges a strong message that Americans will be governed by American law only. I recently introduced into the U.S.
House of Representatives legislation that forbids the U.S. Supreme Court and the lower federal courts from citing any foreign or
international laws, rules, policies, or court decisions as authority for their opinions.
Federal judges take an oath of office promising to decide cases in accordance with the U.S. Constitution and US federal law. Those
judges who insist on considering foreign law and foreign opinions should be removed from their positions for violating that oath,
pure and simple.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia warns that “Day by day, case by case, the Court is busy designing a Constitution for a
country I do not recognize.” Congress needs to act quickly before Justice Scalia’s fears are fully realized.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Legal Issues, Lawyers, & America's Judiciary
U.S. Constitutional Law & Political Philosophy
Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, elected from and representing the Fourteenth
Congressional District of Texas. Congressman Paul is considered to be one of America's leading spokesmen for constitutional
government, the rule of law, liberty under law, the private enterprise system,, free market economics, sound monetary policy, and
fiscal restraint on the part of the U.S. national government.
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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