[Vision2020] Memorial would impeach federal judges

[Tom Hansen]

Is this what we have been reduced to?

Courtesy of today's (March 21, 2015) Lewiston Tribune.

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Memorial would impeach federal judges
Sponsor Rep. Paul Shepherd, R-Riggins, says judges who are making law, not upholding it, should be outed
BOISE - A joint memorial calling for federal judges to be impeached if their rulings go beyond the "original intent" of the Constitution passed the Idaho House Friday on a 44-25 vote.
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Paul Shepherd, R-Riggins, was prompted in part by last year's appellate court decision that overturned Idaho's ban on same-sex marriage.
"I bring this joint memorial because so many issues have come up across the country and with my constituents, that whatever comes down from the court - even if it's unconstitutional when applied to the commonly understood, original intent - it just goes on anyway and we have to live under it, even if it's not constitutional," Shepherd said. "So somehow, someday, we have to take a stand. I think that's in compliance with our oath of office."
The memorial urges Congress to support the principle that judges should "uphold the law and not make or change the law," and calls for judges to be impeached if they stray from original intent.
Original intent doesn't mean the Constitution can never change, Shepherd said, "but change can only happen through an amendment, not through a judge ... I think it's important we send that message - and I think it's important we are one nation under God and that we uphold Christian morals. As an example, how about fornication and adultery?"
Rep. John McCrostie of Boise, who is gay, said he found this legislation personally hurtful.
"Is my marriage so despicable that a federal judge should be impeached?" he asked. "All this bill really does is this: If you vote for it, you get to go home and tell your constituents you voted against gay marriage. If you vote against it, you get to say you supported marriage equality. In the end, all we've done is campaign on company time; we failed to use our time here to improve education, create livable wage jobs or fix a broken transportation system ... You need to vote your heart, but I ask with as much graciousness as I can muster, please don't bring any more discriminatory legislation like this."
Rep. Mark Nye, D-Pocatello, wondered which judges Shepherd wanted to impeach.
"Does that include (former Supreme Court Chief Justice) Earl Warren?" he asked.
Shepherd said it did, given that the Warren court stopped school prayers. He said prayers should be allowed, as long as they're nondenominational.
"Our freedom of religion thing was to deal with denominations of religion, not whether we're Christian or not," Shepherd said. "So if this (impeaching judges) had started with him, we wouldn't have judges out of control today. I wish it had started with him."
Nye, an attorney and past president of the Idaho State Bar Association, noted the Warren court decided "Brown v. Board of Education," which led to school desegregation.
"I'm sure no one today thinks he should be impeached," he said. "I applaud (Shepherd's) frustration and his disdain for specific rulings ... but to attack our institutions doesn't advance the necessary respect that binds us all together."
Rep. Linden Bateman, R-Idaho Falls, spoke in support of the bill, saying it expresses the feelings of many Idahoans about judges who override state prerogatives and shift power to the federal government.
"Essentially this memorial is sending a message, and that message needs to be heard," he said. "Even a casual reading of the Constitution tells us the authors of that venerable document were fearful of the centralization of power."
Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said the Constitution is amazing not merely because it promotes democracy, but because it provides protections for minority views.
"That's where the judiciary comes in," she said. "They're the guardians against the tyranny of the majority ... That's why the Constitution provides for lifetime appointments - so they don't have to be beholden to the majority, so they can stand for the 2 percent and not be run over in the next election. This (memorial) is tearing at the very fabric that makes the country work."
House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said the 1803 decision in "Marbury v. Madison" made it clear that the judiciary is responsible for interpreting the Constitution.
"So I would submit that 'original intent' was to let the courts interpret what the Constitution permits," he said. "All this memorial says is that we're so against gay marriage, not only will we refuse to recognize the rights of those individuals, we'll try to impeach any judge who doesn't see things our way. That is distinctly different from any legal understanding of the role of the courts in America. I think this makes us headed for the evening news once again."
In north central Idaho, Shepherd and Rep. Shannon McMillan, R-Silverton, voted in favor of the legislation. Rusche and Reps. Dan Rudolph, D-Lewiston; Caroline Troy, R-Genesee; and Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer, all voted in opposition.
The memorial now goes to the Senate for further action.

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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" 
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
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