Nice opinion article
from LSU law professor John S. Baker Jr on AOL
News, about the constitutionality of Obamacare.. I've already heard
the argument that " judicial score is tied," and prolly you have too.
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District
judges, whether state or federal, are risk-averse when
interpreting the law. District judges preside over trial courts. They
normally apply established law to the facts before them. Deciding
questions of law is primarily the work of appellate courts.
Federal district judges, in particular, do not like being reversed by
appellate judges. Frequent reversals are not good for one's ego or the
reputation. Federal district judges naturally know, without consulting
statistics, that very few federal statutes are declared
unconstitutional.
So given the probabilities, it's much safer and easier for a lone
federal district judge to declare federal statutes constitutional. Just
leave it to the panel of three appellate judges to consider more
carefully whether a statute is unconstitutional. That's what appellate
judges are paid to do.
Because of this, the two decisions against Obamacare are much more
significant than the two that upheld the legislation. |
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Interestingly "Five
South Dakota lawmakers have introduced legislation that would
require any adult 21 or older to buy a firearm “sufficient to provide
for their ordinary self-defense.” The major difference as I see
it, is this would be a state mandate, enacted under powers vested by
the United States Constiturion. Additionally, similar laws, like Kennesaw,
Georgia's mandatory gun ownership law (1982) have obviously
survived challenges.
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