Conservative Judge Slams Activist Congress
Conservative Judge Slams Activist Congress
A federal appeals court today rejected Terry Schiavo’s parents’ latest attempt to get her feeding tube reconnected. In his concurrence, Judge Stanley Birch, a Bush I appointee, became the first judge to declare Congress’s actions in the case unconstitutional:
A popular epithet directed by some members of society, including some members of Congress, toward the judiciary involves the denunciation of “activist judges.” Generally, the definition of an “activist judge” is one who decides the outcome of a controversy before him according to personal conviction, even one sincerely held, as opposed to the dictates of the law as constrained by legal precedent and, ultimately, our Constitution. In resolving the Schiavo controversy it is my judgment that, despite sincere and altruistic motivation, the legislative and executive branches of our government have acted in a manner demonstrably at odds with our Founding Fathers’ blueprint for the governance of a free people — our Constitution.
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“the legislative and executive branches of our government have acted in a manner demonstrably at odds with our Founding Fathers’ blueprint for the governance of a free people – our Constitution.”
Amen!!!!!
Wake up, fellow citizens – our Founding Fathers would be appalled at this Administration and Repubs in COngress- so much of their behavior is flagrantly un-American and unconstitutional.
We need to remember – and go and study, if need be – what kind of country they left us- it is not the one Bush is trying to force on us!
March 30th, 2005 at 5:36 pmQuite possibly one of the best quotes I’ve ever seen. Should be disseminated through every channel available.
March 30th, 2005 at 6:19 pmBRAVO! Cheers, stomping, great happiness and relief.
March 30th, 2005 at 8:32 pmIt sounds to me like grounds for a recall. Not only of Bush, but of a hell of alot of Rep. in the House and Senate. I wonder if as citizens we could rasie enough money to hire a lawyer to bring the case and force a “Ken Starr” style witch hunt of these people. They have gone to far and now is the time to press the impeachment issue.
March 30th, 2005 at 11:32 pmHow refreshing to hear an intelligent, well spoken and completely relevant person in this idiotic set-to over the “run-away” judiciary speak truth to pinheads. The sky is blue, the ocean’s deep and wide and fundie’s, (and their toadies), who wish to dismantle a branch of our gov’t because they don’t like it are FULL OF SHIT. What a sad thing that we are living in a world so full of smoke and fog that a statement like Judge Birch’s stands out like a searchlight in the desert. Right on sir and muchos gracias.
March 31st, 2005 at 12:26 amI believe a case could be made for the constitutionality of the Schiavo bill. The 14th amendment states that:
“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
…and further down…
“The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. ”
Now Terri has indeed enjoyed due process under Florida law, so no problem there. But, it could be argued that the state enforced a law that abridged the privilege of life for Terri, or that she was subject to unequal protection of the law (it’s not OK to let a healthy child die but it is OK to let a disabled person die).
So I think it’s OK that the matter was moved to federal jurisdiction–and I may or may not like their rulings, but I think that the correct process was followed.
Incidentally, I’d like to see where in the Constitution it authorizes Congress to appropriate tax money to pay for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Education, Subsidies, or Welfare.
March 31st, 2005 at 10:15 amWhile the case of Terri Schiavo is undeniably sad, the fact that the federal government has become so enmeshed in this case is appalling. Florida law clearly gives Michael Schiavo the right to determine his wife’s medical treatment, which this activist Congress seems to have no regard for. Medical tragedies such as this one occur everyday with no fanfare. However, the President’s brother has seen fit to ensure this matter has taken center stage in our country in a time when young men and women are dying every day overseas.
March 31st, 2005 at 12:17 pmUntil you have experienced the death of a loved one you cannot imagine the pain involved in making appropriate decisions. I’ve been there. And I am struck by the selfishness of Terri’s parents – the young woman had problems and she may have suffered that heart attack as a result of an eating disorder. They should have followed their faith – they believe in a heaven where she will be in the presence of her Lord. Then why was it so terrible to ‘let her go’ peacefully after so many years? She received wonderful care for 15 years. A hospice facility knows well how to treat those at the end of life. ‘Starving’ is not an appropriate term for the last days of Terri’s life. Food was not important – but hospice care for her comfort was. God bless, Terri — rest in peace.
March 31st, 2005 at 12:29 pmThe thing that seems most scary from this terribly sad incident is that it becomes more and more apparent that those we elect to our legislatures have no idea what our Founding Fathers intended in setting up this form of government.
March 31st, 2005 at 1:32 pmI am disgusted by the Dems in congress who did not speak out in unison because the appearance, timing and substance of this act was obvious to me, I’m a Plumber!!
March 31st, 2005 at 1:40 pmIt is a measure of how dangerously unbalanced our government has become that the vilest of threats are now routinely made against conservative judges who are guilty only of upholding the constitution and the law.
March 31st, 2005 at 1:52 pmThank you Judge Stanley Birch. I was beginning to believe that due process was a thing of the past. Your judicial ruling reclaims integrity within public office. The expansive power of the present administration has been on the virge of demanding complete compliance with their radical political agenda, without regard for constitutional principle. Your courageous judicial judgment gives me faith again in the essential system of checks and balances of governmental powers. It has never been so important in our nation’s history!
March 31st, 2005 at 1:56 pmNo one LET Terri Schaivo die. The courts decided the evidence showed that this would have been Terri’s choice. Her husband is her executor and made the call based on what he knew to be his wife’s choice. This Congress became the very activists the Neocons publicly abhor. It seems that activism is OK, as long as it results in outcomes of which the Neocons approve.
March 31st, 2005 at 2:12 pmHere is a question for the group, as I am not an attorney: In Judge Birch’s opinion, did he formally declare the law unconstitutional, or were his comments merely that–just a side comment, if you will?
March 31st, 2005 at 2:24 pmWhen all is said and done, when Congress has finished pillaging and plundering our Constitutional rights, our last best hope for the security of both the spirit and letter of our laws does indeed abide with those judges who uphold their oaths of office and provide a reasoned check and balance to a government gone askew.
March 31st, 2005 at 3:31 pmOne only needs to read the transcript of Scarborough County on MSNBC of 3/30/05 to see what Judge Catherine Crier argued with Pat Buchanan about. Judge Crier was terrific. She took on Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough and took them to the wood shed. Go to transcripts of the show and read the discussion. Terrific stuff Judge Crier.
Here is some of what Judge Crier said about the Schiavo story when referring to the fact that Congress and the President stepped in where they did not belong: “What our founding fathers determined should be a division of duties between the three branches. If you want to give the president of the United States or the Congress the right to tell one family, one individual what is going to happen with their lives, then you are rewriting our founding documents.”
The Schiavo law passed by Congress was dealing only with that one particular case and the founding fathers said no law can be passed dealing with one person, or entity.
Congress was entering into a space that they had no business entering.
May God Bless Terri.
March 31st, 2005 at 4:49 pmFinally, someone of responsibility stood up to the evil empire and spoke out. Thank you Judge Birch.
For those who asked where were the democrats over the past two weeks, I beleive they took the correct action and stayed out of the whole fracus.
The scariest vision of the past two weeks, Tom DeLay as the poster child for morals, come on.
March 31st, 2005 at 6:20 pmToday we heard a judge who remembers why this country was founded on the principle of checks and balances between the legislature, executive, and the judicial. Finally, someone has taken this administration to task for its abuse of power.
March 31st, 2005 at 8:59 pmTremendous thanks to a conservative judge who remembers what a judge should be. The entire judicial branch has behaved admirably throughout this travesty (and yes, tragedy). It is heartening to see a conservative judge slap down the radicals in the White House and the Congress. DeLay as a moral leader? Sick-making.
April 1st, 2005 at 9:12 amIn a time when the judiciary and the legal process are widely trashed by various groups and commentators, I am reassured to see a conservative judge recognize that ours is a government of laws, laws which override the fervor of the moment for the overall greater good of the republic.
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January 7th, 2007 at 3:21 pm[...] during the Schiavo scandal. As federal appeals court Judge Stanley Birch, a Bush I appointee, wrote in his concurrence in a Schiavo case, their efforts were unconstitutional: In resolving the Schiavo controversy it is my judgment that, [...]
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