(11-28-2010 03:04 PM)Hambone10 Wrote: Marbury v Madison was filed when most of the framers were still alive and many still active in politics.
Several of them [Madison, not least of all. Jefferson, too, although he was a "Founder" not a "Framer"] disagreed with it, too.
Quote:You are free to feel differently, I don't feel like debating a 200 year old practice.
It is possible to support the concept of "judicial review" in some or most instances, yet still reject the concept that the constitutionality of any and all federal and state actions are determined by a vote of nine lawyers, deliberating in secret, at their own lesire, and with virtual life-tenure if they want it. To be sure, the latter concept has prevailed in this country for a long, long time -- despite warnings from people as different as Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon. I make you no secret that I consider it (judicial review) to have been, in practice, mostly harmful to American order and liberty. I also think that most Americans intuitively agree with me on that, even if they have no idea what "Marbury v Madison" was all about.
Quote:It certainly seems a conflict to have the people that wrote the laws decide if they are consistent with the framers intent. They only created 3 branches... One of the three has to decide these things. Which would YOU have do it??
By and by, I think the greater authority should rest with the branch(es) most accountable to the people. By any honest reckoning, the judiciary is the least accountable branch, and it should accordingly have the least authority, IMHO.
Quote:Or are you saying that the framers screwed up and there should be a 4th?
I think the Framers made many notable mistakes/deficiencies in crafting the Constitution (although the non-creation of a 4th branch of gov't is not one of them). The existence of so many Amendments -- not to mention all the proposed Amendments that have never become law -- suggests I am not alone in this.
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FWIW, some constitutional scholars believe the "Independent Regulatory Agencies" like the EPA, FEMA and whatnot do, in fact, serve as a de-facto 4th branch of government.