The Courts: Arguments and Opinions

With respect to the April 10 editorial, “The War on Judges,” you are misstating the issue. The issue is not that those who oppose activist judges desire congressional control over the judiciary branch. You are correct in stating that the judiciary should be independent and is a separate and equal part of the three branches of the U.S. government. What people are opposed to are judges who create new legislation from the bench rather than interpreting existing laws or the Constitution.

The country belongs to the people. When the people go to the ballot box and express their will, they do not expect that judges will rule against their votes. Over the past several decades the will of the people has been stomped on by judges who thumb their noses at the law and the voters.

This kind of activism in which judges choose to ignore existing laws voted on by legislators or the people directly, or base their interpretations of the Constitution on what are existing policies in foreign countries, will not be tolerated by the people of this country.

Gary Aminoff

Los Angeles

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Your editorial reminds us that “judicial independence is one of this nation’s distinguishing traits and a hallmark of our constitutional scheme. To endure, our democracy requires that legislators respect the independence of the judiciary, even when it comes to decisions they don’t like.”

The reverse side of this coin is that judges are appointed to judge. They are not legislators and have no authority to rule in accordance with contemporary ideas, foreign legal opinions or personal preferences. Their rulings are constrained by statute, legal precedent and the Constitution. They most certainly are not legislators; legislators are elected to represent the people in making laws. Mutual respect is a two-way street.

Robert A. Gismondi

Reseda

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House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) should pay attention to this: We do not live in a democracy subject only to majority rule. We live in a republic, built specifically to protect the rights of the citizens. One of the important aspects of our judiciary is to protect minority interests from mob rule. We have an aristocracy of robes -- checked by the other two branches of government. We also have a voice for the majority -- checked by the other two branches of government. What we don’t have is a society where you need only to gather a crowd, pick up the torches and pitchforks, and your dreams will come true.

It is clear that the Republican Party of DeLay and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas has become an anti-republican mob, without a shred of respect for our founding fathers’ greatest achievement: a republic of three coordinate branches constructed to protect our rights.

Bill Decker

San Diego

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First DeLay tries to go around the court system by promoting the Terri Schiavo legislation. Then he attacks the courts when they do not support this unconstitutional legislation. In the meantime, he is under review for allegedly violating House rules in several instances during his performance of public duties. In sum, he has no care for the most important ingredient of American civilization -- the rule of law.

When you say he attacks the courts and is a threat to judicial independence, you are being too kind. He flouts the Constitution and is a threat to the rule of law, and hence to the America of our founders.

As such, he is a threat to the future of America as a government of laws.

Michael H. Miller

Los Angeles