Delaware Legislature voids court decision
Oh, I like this:
[Delaware legislators] passed a bill Wednesday that declares "null and void" a state Supreme Court ruling that could lead to the immediate release from prison of nearly 200 rapists, killers and kidnappers.
The bill passed both houses of the legislature unanimously and now waits for the governor's signature.
One of the bloggers at the liberal TalkLeft writes:
The notion that a legislature can pass a law that nullifies any court decision it doesn't like is antithetical to a political system that relies on the checks and balances afforded by coequal branches of government. Legislatures have the power to change the law; they don't have the power to change (or ignore) court decisions, even decisions that are politically unpopular.
Well, a legislature may have the power to change (or ignore) a court's decisions if it says it has that power. After all, that's how we got the practice of "judicial review." The Supreme Court simply announced itself as the final arbiter of the law. (Marbury v. Madison, 1803.) Perhaps we've come full circle, and now it's time for the legislatures (and Congress) to announce the practice of "legislative review" of judicial rulings.
If you think about it, there's really very little to stop them, especially if the political executives go along with it. Whether in law, government, religion or even office politics, that's how bloodless revolutions occur. There comes a moment when somebody with a spine and credibility says, "Uh, no. Actually, I've got the power," and then he waits for the other guy to blink.
Here's one of the animals the Delaware Legislature is trying to keep in prison:
Before Wednesday's vote, senators listened as Byrd Whaley urged them to keep the man who killed his parents some 40 years ago behind bars.
"He killed my mother, he raped her, he left her lying on the floor for 10 hours waiting for my father to come home, murdered him, robbed him," Whaley told lawmakers as he choked back tears.
Who do you think the people of Delaware will side with? The court or the legislature?
Stand your ground, guys. You may be on the verge of something.