OPINION:
Years ago, Chief Justice John Roberts joined a decision in favor of Obamacare. Although many believed the ruling defied common sense, Roberts explained that it was not the court’s job to correct ballot-box mistakes. That was then. Today we have a different president, elected by a landslide, and a gang of judges stifling his every effort to preside and do his constitutional duty. This behavior flagrantly exceeds their authority, and Chief Justice Roberts seems to see nothing wrong with it.
Double standards aside, rogue judges are nothing new. A lifetime ago, we had an unwritten rule that juries decided points of fact and judges decided points of law. This meant juries found defendants negligent (or not) and judges ruled on how much, if anything, to award plaintiffs as damages. They couldn’t very well add on huge sums for pain and suffering; they’d risk being overruled. Then came an idea: Why not allow juries to decide damage amounts? Since appellate courts seldom overrule juries, the scam prospered. It paved the way for courts to create new currency by fiat, worth no more than Monopoly money, and flood the economy with it. Congress and the Federal Reserve have been unable to stanch the resulting inflation.
That’s one instance. For its part, the Supreme Court has had one or two famously bad chief justices. Given these, we can no longer ignore a gaping hole in the Constitution, hiding in plain sight. It provides no effective procedure for calling rogue or incompetent judges and justices to account. In today’s overwrought climate, correcting this will require exceptional leadership and integrity, of the sort never seen before.
JOHN S. MASON JR.
Irvington, Virginia
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