Courts in Crisis: When Judges Overstep and Citizens Pay the Price
In the current “hush money” trial involving former President Trump, Judge Juan Merchan has, on several occasions, used his federal bench to undermine the constitutional rights of a former president, from issuing gag orders to not recusing himself from the case.
We find ourselves in a time when, as a free nation, we allow judges to revoke people's rights simply because they can. It seems that the balance of power has shifted, and instead of a system "of the people, by the people," it now appears to be "of the judges, by the judges.”
In speaking about the judicial system in America, President Theodore Roosevelt remarked, “It is the people, and not the judges, who are entitled to say what their constitution means, for the constitution is theirs; it belongs to them and not to their servants in office—any other theory is incompatible with the foundation principles of our government.”
Roosevelt underscored this fundamental truth: The American justice system is a cornerstone of our democracy, designed to uphold the principles outlined in the U.S. Constitution and protect the rights of its citizens.
In his award-winning book Liberty & Tyranny, constitutional expert Mark Levine writes,
“If the Constitution’s meaning can be erased or rewritten, and the Framers' intentions ignored, it ceases to be a constitution but is instead a concoction of political expedients that serve the contemporary policy agendas of the few who are entrusted with public authority to preserve it.”
To Levine’s point, if liberal judges (over time) were to institute a replacement for the U.S. Constitution successfully, our fundamental principles would risk being reduced to outdated rhetoric, devoid of the inherent truths believed to be endowed by God. Under such circumstances, the U.S. Constitution could be subject to further division and alteration to align with a secular ideology, neglecting natural law and omitting any recognition of a Divine Creator.
Even the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, warned of the potential danger of Supreme Court Justices becoming an "imperial judiciary," detailing in his own words how threatening this would be to the newly liberated nation: “to consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions is a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy (Letter to William Jarvis, September 28, 1820).”
Judges possess and should exercise specific powers to oversee and adjudicate cases presented within their respective judicial domains. They are conduits that society has established to uphold the law and enforce justice. However, with great power comes great responsibility. Just because a judge presides over a court of law does not give them absolute power above the law. Judges are not rulers who can overthrow the power of the people and deprive them of their constitutional rights. Instead, judges ought to be role models who stand for what is right and wrong according to the letter of the Law.
The number of federal judges who are making decisions based on their political leanings rather than the law is increasing. This has led to favorable rulings for liberal agendas, which goes against the principles of justice.
The U.S. Constitution is indispensable to American society. It contains absolute truths that build the moral foundation that directs our conduct and guides our moral and public lives, individually and governmentally. If tampered with and replaced by liberal judges, America will see corrupt power at its worst.
Our children’s futures depend on us impeding this from happening. We must care enough to act and do what is necessary to maintain the constitutional integrity of the American judicial system.
We need a more transparent appointment process and an end to tenure for judges who overturn propositions, undermine our rights to free speech and religious liberties, and release child molesters and convicted criminals.
We must take action to prevent judges from overruling the sanctity of life.
We need to assemble watchdogs in communities across the country and crack down on judges who usurp the U.S. Constitution.
We need veto power within both houses of Congress to retain checks and balances so the Supreme Court cannot freely undermine our Constitution.
We must train more conservative youth to fill prominent positions that will positively influence our country.
In the best interest of our country, we need impartial judges who rule without personal bias or a desire to override the U.S. Constitution. A civil society must trust that the judges overseeing them understand that they are accountable to a higher authority, as declared by Asaph in Psalm 50:6, “And the heavens proclaim His [God’s] righteousness, for God Himself is Judge.”