Most of you are now aware the Idaho Legislature, respecting the will of the majority of Idaho citizens, last session tried to eliminate the sales tax on groceries. After an unconstitutional veto, the Idaho Supreme Court has again ‘split the baby in half,’ by ruling, on the one hand, against a previous Supreme Court decision on the issue and, on the other hand, still upholding the veto. The Court relied not on the arguments of the parties, but on ‘implications’ found in the language of the Idaho Constitution: Another political result in the interest of ‘justice.’
It is obvious that we are living in an Orwelian nightmare and the courts, by re-interpreting plain language, are the gatekeepers and creators of this new world. Oh, I understand that this outcome is nothing new. Many of us, however, were hoping that the courts would return to reason. Instead, the trend of that (equal?) branch of government marginalizing the branch which represents the citizens continues unabated.
I am livid.
Today, citizens are required to pretend:
Pretend that ‘this is a free country’ when in reality citizens are restricted at every turn by government power which has reached beyond Constitutional limits, relying on Administrative Procedures and Administrative Law and Judicial fiat;
Pretend that your representatives, Constitutional officers, and judiciary take an oath to the Constitution, when in reality our oath is to the Supreme Court’s interpretation (or invention) of Constitutional language and meaning;
Pretend that there are three EQUAL branches of government, when in reality the Court is the final arbiter and definer of what is lawful and what is not;
Pretend that we are a Constitutional Republic, when in reality America is an Oligarchy ruled by lawyers in black robes.
Pretending that language does not mean what it says is the Orwellian Principle at its best.
The Idaho Supreme Court proves once again that it is second to none in pretending. Insanely, the affect of this ruling goes far beyond the propriety of Gubernatorial veto power: By twisted logic and inferring the intent of the drafters of our Constitution by"implication,” the Court decided that any bill transmitted to the executive after the Legislature has adjourned is void. The end result is that the Court has now stripped the legislature of its discretion, and mandated WHEN the Legislature can transmit bills to the executive. That issue was not even before the court!
The Court understands and agrees that the Constitution works to restrict government power, and, genuflecting toward that principle, in this decision particularly, exceeds restrictions against amending the Constitution and goes beyond its Constitutional role in so amending, resulting in further constraining the Legislature.
Nothing in the Idaho Constitution addresses when the Legislature can (or must) transmit a bill to the governor. The Court, by fiat and without the issue being addressed by the parties, has made the determination that it does so, by ‘implication’.
The Court is pretending to interpret the intent of plain language when in reality it is creating intent by implication. The result is judicial legislation. It’s CREATING law. As long as a decision doesn’t marginalize the courts, who cares how it affects other branches or citizens?
When a court ‘splits the baby’ it does so in the name of Justice. This is deemed wisdom. But Solomon the wise, to whom the reference originates, did not kill the baby and divide it between the contesting mothers. He used the threat to discover the truth. Regardless of plain reading, today Courts disregard truth and evidence the following logical string: Solomon was wise; Solomon ordered the baby to be split; Solomon by implication, MEANT to kill the baby, even if he did not. Therefore, splitting the baby is wisdom.
Hence, by extension, the Orwellian principle that plain language means only what a court says it means prevails. Forget truth. Implication, interpretation, and inference: That’s how courts, in the names of justice and wisdom, forgo common sense and kill, not just babies, but the Constitution.
turnnoffyourmind
andulkaphoto
tangentwithtanner
blakekathryn