OPINION:
“Eleventh Circuit law does not permit this Court to grant the Government’s request; the Court’s hands are tied,” a quote by Obama appointee Judge Robin Rosenberg in “Judge cites lack of authority in refusing to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury materials” (Web, July 23), has to be one of the most disturbing pronouncements by a circuit judge in recent history — and that’s saying something.
Under the Constitution, the legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch executes them and the judicial branch reviews them for constitutionality. There is nothing there about judges making laws.
Now, the 11th Circuit may have rules, procedures, precedent from other laws or historical guidance, but there is no such thing as “11th Circuit Law” from what I have learned about the Constitution.
President Trump and his administration have been repeatedly required to confront this mistaken, self-anointed authorization by judges to make law. It is not just a slip of the tongue. Circuit judges are meant to be selected for their ability to be clear and concise, and this is a repeated occurrence. It must be set right.
Congress needs to right this wrong and the Supreme Court needs to confirm the constitutionality of the action to finally get inferior courts’ attention and stop their repeated and unconstitutional grabs for power.
It does not require a constitutional amendment, just real congressional and Supreme Court backbone.
JAMES KOUT
Bowie, Maryland
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