20070219

bow not to US jurists

in researching a possible article on rosa parks, impersonator scumbag queen of omission, i found this evidence of the pits of stupidity in which so many judges wallow. from federal fool seybourn lynne, former chief judge of the northern district of alabama, now thankfully dead, writing the dissent in Browder v. Gayle (1956):
Judges of trial courts frequently find themselves in disagreement with the rationale of an old, but clearly controlling precedent. That is so because their positions do not insulate them from those changing physical and metaphysical concepts which form a part of the life process. But they are neither designed nor equipped to perform the legislative function of putting off the old and putting on the new. To arrogate to themselves this prerogative, in my humble opinion, would be the first, fatal step in making hollow the proud boast that ours is a "government of laws and not of men."
there he's supposedly providing a defense for stare decisis, the primary tool for "government of men" — judges, naturally. the theory unmasked is that if you're going to fuck things up, better to fuck things up for all, rather than confine it to the local areas of the bigger asswipes and fools. with a nifty latin snippet, we are to genuflect as the doctrine of perpetuating and enshrining errors marches by.

not a big fan of looking at systems and arbitrarily naming the single part most responsible for something. too easy to get bit in the ass by complexity. but if pressed to provide the name of the most powerful technique for the systematic destruction of liberty in the US, i'd probably go with stare decisis. was good enough for TJ.
The germ of dissolution of our federal government is in the constitution of the federal judiciary; an irresponsible body, (for impeachment is scarcely a scare-crow,) working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little to-day and a little to-morrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the States, and the government of all be consolidated into one.
stare decisis is the pickax, cleats, rope, and truncheon all rolled into one, providing... [drum roll] ...the regular, intentional, systematic disregard of law, in favor of whatever some arrogant fuck (good luck finding a class more arrogant than judges) feels will most quickly conform society to his ideal (or itch his nuts — whatever he can get away with).

in modern US tyranny, illegal social engineering that departs from precedent is protected, and the dismantling of precedent contravening law prohibited. enjoy, because thomas jefferson was right, and we're nearing the end of the experiment.

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posted by saltypig @ 05:44