| | Political debates of every kind. | What do you think about judicial activism? | | I am taking this fantastic class right now on the philosophy of law, and an issue got raised in class today that made me second guess everything I thought about law, judicial process, and judicial interpretation. Basically, there are two common views on law. Some people believe that any statute passed by a governing body is law. This is usually the only definition that anyone thinks of. There is, however, another definition of law, one set forth by St. Thomas Aquinas. This definition says that if a law is not rational or does not seek the common good, then it is not a law. One good example of this is the Fugitive Slave Acts of the pre-Civil War Era. There were many judges who refused to uphold those acts because they believed them irrational and unjust.This brings up a question that I think needs to be thought about. Many people are dead set against judicial activists and think that judges should only interpret and apply the law exactly as written in the books, no matter what it says. This might SEEM okay at first glance, but it is likely that justice systems are not meant to function that way. Think of things like Fugitive Slave Acts, Jim Crow laws, Roe v. Wade (though I... | |
| | Man accused in Miss. of threat on the internet to kill President Elect Obama | | Jackson, Miss. (AP)- A Wisconsin man has been arrested in Mississippi after authorities say he threatened on the Internet to kill President-elect Barack Obama. Steven Joseph Christopher was arrested Friday by the Secret Service...and was charged with threatening to assassinate Obama for what he claimed was "the country's own good,"...a judge ordered he be held without bail until his first court appearance.http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=9689156 (hope that works)Well looks like it is never ending. President Elect Obama is continuely faced with assination threats and probally in due time someone will try it for real. The level of hatred for the man is akin to the pre-civil right era and that is a shame. He is not in office yet, has not laid down the first policy, has not done anything (as I can witness) that would be a threat to the country's "good" but I guess many feel he is a threat. While I don't expect the naysayers to "agree" with the guy, I am curious as to how many really sympathize with him. | |
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