Well…in my reading yesterday, I ran across a story that just made me shake my head it was just so wrong…in case you haven’t read it yet, there was an 18 year old in Texas who was driving drunk and killed 4 people and the judge in the case gave him nothing but probation.. a long probation but similar cases have resulted in jail time of up to 15 years…and the judges reasoning? Because this kid grew up in a rich, privileged household, he was not responsible for his actions since he always got his way and no one taught him right from wrong. It’s not as if the rich don’t already get away with whatever they want, now they can murder and get probation? I am just so tired of the deference the rich get in the US….no wonder they think the law doesn’t apply to them when stuff like this happens…people go to jail for stealing food to feed their families and this idiot gets to walk away? He’ll never have to learn any consequences either since he is rich and connected…and will never have to look for a job..or daddies rich cronies will give him one…this is just wrong….geez…
Tag Archives: judges
Just a quick question…
Well…I don’t know if you’ve been following the first rulings in the lawsuits that have been filed against the new healthcare law, but I see a troubling thing happening; that the two judges that upheld all provisions of the law were appointed by Dems while the one that recently struck down the individual mandate portion of the law was appointed by a repub. I was always taught that judges were supposed to be impartial arbiters of the law, using precedence as a guide, that were blind to political pressures…it was even one of the founding principles of this country…that an independent judiciary was necessary to rein in both the passions of the populace and as a check on the legislatures reflecting those passions. When did judges abdicate their responsibilities to be fair and impartial? One of the most egregious of these is the supreme courts overturning of a hundred years of precedence in the Citizens United decision that gave corporations the same rights to political speech as flesh and blood Americans; which the right wing majority knew would tip the political scales in favor of the repubs. But, don’t think I reserve my scorn for only those on the right, any judge that abdicates his responsibilities to be fair and objective, and follow the law, whether they lean right or left should be removed from office.
That said, the repubs who shout all day about following the constitution are the ones who expect judges to strike down laws they don’t like…just because they don’t like them, and they don’t fit their narrow view of what America should be. To those folks I say: please get a copy of the constitution and read it….the judiciary is not another political toy for you to play with…there is great danger to what you want judges to do…geez…
An Independent judiciary…
Well… this is not the one I was thinking about earlier in the day but it is a topic that needs to have some light shone on it after the recall of three judges in Iowa this election. If you didn’t read, there were three judges that voted for equal protection under the law in ruling that gays and lesbians have the right to marry in Iowa. What the crazy right wingers are saying that judges should reflect the will of the people and because they are against it, the rights of gays and lesbians should be suppressed until they say it okay to grant them the same rights as the rest of us. The founders established the independent judiciary specifically as a counterbalance to popular opinion to ensure that the majority couldn’t repress other citizens…what’s next…when judges vote to protect minority rights will they be recalled? These are the same people that thought “separate but equal” was just fine and it took an independent judiciary to end segregation and the many other instances of discrimination that “popular opinion” thought was just great. Again…it just another instance where the righties are all for the constitution unless it goes against their ignorant opinions….geez…