Reduce judicial power, Gallagher suggests (GOP candidate for FL governor)

[Thom Little]

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Gallagher Tuesday continued pressing his conservative credentials, calling for a constitutional amendment giving state lawmakers final control over court rules and procedures.

The proposal would redraw the "separation of powers" boundaries among the executive, legislative and judicial branches to take away power from the judicial.

"Judges are meant to be umpires. They should not be writing the rules of the game," he said.

Gallagher, the state's chief financial officer and long regarded as a moderate Republican over his Tallahassee career, has in recent years professed views more in line with the Christian conservative voters whose influence often determines the outcome of Republican primary elections.


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2005/11/30/a12a_gallagher_1130.html

[leesa]

1. Blah..blah...blah...this is so passe. Didn't he get the memo?

[Walt Starr]

2. In other words, judges shouldn't judge any more, they should be

rubber stamps for whoever holds power.

[converted_democrat]

3. You hit the nail on the head. n/t

[Burning Water]

4. On the other hand,

a limit on judicial powers might prevent another fiasco like Florida 2000. Just a thought.

[Walt Starr]

5. Okay, go support this neo-con whacko amendment, then.

:eyes:

[WhiteTara]

6. their state supremes ruled the vote counting

should continue and that is when monkey boy and friends went to their friends on the USSC.

[Burning Water]

8. And this

counters my argument how??

Judicial power, like any other, can be exercised for good or evil?

[converted_democrat]

9. So, explain to me why limiting judicial power is a good thing....

I really want to here this, and make the explanation detailed.

[Orangepeel]

10. If the USSC *hadn't* stopped the recount...

The Florida Legislature, under the leadership of Tom Feeney (who is now my congressman because the legislature also drew a congressional district just for him), was on record as saying they would certify bush's electoral voters regardless of what the recount showed.

More power to the Florida legislature at the expense of anyone is a bad thing. The districts are gerrymandered beyond belief and they already hold WAY too much power.

[Burning Water]

11. I'm actually

for limiting all governmental power, not just the judicial. My point is this: We will not be able to expand judicial power to advance our goals without also running the risk that it can be used to forward those of our opponents. This is what happened with Florida in 2000. This works for the legislatures, too, but at least we get the chance to correct ourselves if we chose wrongly. Not so with the judges.

[Exiled in America]

7. Well, maybe that's what he felt in his heart, but what he said was --

...different. He is saying that a judges role is to interpret the law, not create new law.

The act of judging would be focused on determining whether the law was correctly applied in a given context, and interpreting what one law means in light of other related laws.

That sounds good on the surface, even to me - but his entire argument fails because of one glaring gap in his reasoning. Judges are already umpires. They are already interpreting the law.

Judges aren't just "making up" law - but the are often striking down things passed by congress because, as an umpire, they rule that such things break the rules of our game -- the constitution.

The real issue is that when people don't like the decisions of judges, they start srceaming "activism."

[Idioteque]

12. I hope this guy gets the nomination...

If Charlie Crist wins the GOP primary, the race will be a toss-up but Jim Davis can kick Gallagher's ass with both hands tied behind his back.