Whenever a president undertakes substantial policy changes or encourages legislation to enact those changes, he runs the risk of being labeled dictatorial and having his actions curtailed by the judiciary.
Since this is happening with Trump, we are seeing a resurgence of the debate on whether the courts should be totally independent and have absolute power to approve or disapprove executive and legislative actions.
The case for judicial independence was made, quite eloquently, by Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick in a March Real Clear Politics op ed.
However, judicial independence should not be absolute. It should be tempered by the reasonable amount of moderation that results from having three equally powerful branches of government, without any of them being able to exercise complete control over the others.
Justice Bolick characterized three tactics as being highly dangerous. He was quite right regarding two of those tactics, but wrong about the third.
- Defying court orders. There is no doubt that this behavior is totally unacceptable. We have in place proper procedures for dealing with this, including the appeals process.
- Arguing that the president has the power to define his own constitutional authority. This goes together with defying court orders, and it is a flawed argument.
- Impeaching judges. Characterizing this tactic as highly dangerous is a substantial overreach by Justice Bolick. In most jurisdictions, judges are appointed for life and the only way to address misbehavior is via the impeachment process. Even so, the number of successful impeachments has historically been quite low.
Justice Bolick points out that there is a procedure for replacing bad judges. The voters can elect presidents and governors that will appoint good judges and elect members of the legislature that will confirm those judges. But this process can take years, thereby allowing rogue judges to continue their disruptive activities.
Fortunately, in Arizona we have a system that, while not perfect, is regarded by most citizens to be quite adequate. Judges and justices in four counties (Coconino, Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal) are appointed and subject to periodic elections in which voters determine whether to retain them or not. The rest of the counties simply elect their superior court judges. Two incidents in 2024 brought this into very sharp focus.
First, there was a well-funded and well-organized campaign to vote out two Supreme Court Justices, Clint Bolick and Kathryn King. The reason for removing these two justices was not that they had done any thing wrong, but that they had participated in a ruling that disagreed with the promoters of the campaign. Clearly there was no logical reason to remove these individuals.
The system worked. Despite lots of effort and substantial funding, the voters voted overwhelmingly to retain both justices. The current system worked.
Second, on the ballot there was Proposition 137. If approved, this proposition would have created a situation very similar to what Justice Bolick has advocated. Had that proposition passed, we would have had a situation in which justices would no longer be subject to periodic voter review. It would have created the ultimate judicial independence. Again, the system worked. The voters rejected Proposition 137 by the overwhelming margin of 77.67% to 22.33%.
The main take away from all this is that Arizona voters want judicial independence, but want it with reasonable checks and balances.
The problem with the so-called satisfactory system of having voters say yea or nay on judges during elections is that the only info available on any of them is how other compadre judges and other shark lawyers rate them. Most people just go with the flow and say yeah, keep them, buttheads and all, in place. If the judge hasn’t appeared in the news for flub-up, nobody would ever know whether or not he or she is a screwup. Yeah, this is a satisfactory system.
There is no such thing anymore as “Properly Checked And Balanced Judicial Independence”.
We are in the post-Constitutional era. The Bill of Rights have been neutralized over decades of court decisions. The provisions of the Constitution have been subverted to no end. Laws have been turned upside down and reversed in endless regulations promulgated by the administration, the Deep State.
Oh nPuhhleez, isn’t this the same guy that somehow got right behind home plate seats at the Diamondbacks game? Google it. He is a TDS loon who owes his ass to Trump saving America.
What Mr. Bolick failed to address is true degradation, (and in some cases the elimination), of all established checks and balances and gov’t systems in America.
Bolick also failed to acknowledge what truly occurred during the Biden Administration and more importantly failed to address the most critical crisis at hand. When President Trump assumed the 47th Presidency, a crisis existed that no other President in the history of America was ever faced with; “America Unhinged 2021-2024.”
1) Our Country had been operating in a basic form of Anarchy, (like pages right out of the Marxist Playbook). “Laws for Thee, But Not for Me,” with the King, (Joe Biden) assigning his Court Jesters, (U.S. DOJ & FBI), to ignore the Rules of the Kingdom, (i.e. The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights) and to chain and to financial destroy everyone who spoke against the King and, who spoke of restoring and upholding the of the Rule of Law.
Biden’s Clan of Crooked Crusaders; Wrongfully Entrapped, Prosecuted and Incarcerated the “Average Joe American,” who attended January 6 while exercising their 1st Amendment Rights;
2) Biden and his Cabinet Members also enacted and supported Treasonous Acts, were now this was the “norm” and not the exception in America.
3) Homeland Secretary Mayorkas opened the U.S. Borders to every nefarious person and every dangerous poisonous substances, (i.e. Illegal Narcotics and Illegal Criminal Aliens).
Sec. Mayorkas, (a former U.S. Attorney and current licensed Attorney), ignored almost every Federal Criminal Statue and Code of Ethics under the U.S. Code.
This caused instant Violence, KAOS, dismay and initiated sickness.
But then again Boilck is a lifelong Attorney, isn’t he……….
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” – Edmund Burke, 1795
2021-2024 Re;Good Men = The Sheeple of America.
But President Trump knew of the Evils of the World, long before becoming President of the United States. President Trump just didn’t know to the extreme extent that the Evils withing the Government Machine, (i.e. aka: the Deep State), would work hard to remove him from this Earth forever.
President Trump stood at the Gates of the Kingdom. His Strong Faith in God, used as his guiding light. His Goal: To Save and Resurrect America from the Biden-KAOS.
President Trump will be known as the President who saved America, made World Peace, brought back the Middle Class and saved America from the Evils of the World.
God Bless President Trump!
Exactly! Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Wake up, Clint, you loser. We’re in a post-constitutional America.
You helped destroy what you swore to uphold through your judicial cowardice after the 2022 Elections.
Clint Bolick is a coward who codified the stolen Arizona elections in 2022.
He has no place to lecture anyone.