News Is Newt Gingrich Proposing to Arrest Federal Judges for Wrong Decisions?

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Newt Gingrich has proposed that federal judges could be arrested by Capitol Police or U.S. Marshals if they refuse to explain their rulings to Congress, suggesting a controversial approach to judicial accountability. This has sparked intense debate about the implications for the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary. Critics argue that Gingrich's stance reflects a dangerous inclination toward authoritarianism, undermining the checks and balances established in the Constitution. They emphasize that impeachment should be reserved for serious offenses, not political disagreements, and that judges should adhere to the law rather than popular opinion. Some participants in the discussion express concern that Gingrich's rhetoric could lead to a politicization of the judiciary, while others argue that judges already provide explanations through their written opinions. The conversation highlights fears of a potential constitutional crisis and the risks of undermining judicial independence in favor of executive power.
  • #31


lisab said:
A president is well within his Constitutional rights to appoint whom he wishes to judicial posts; his appointees still have to get through congress.

That's quite different from a Presidential hopeful who wants to send the Marshals to drag judges to impeachment proceedings, because the he thinks the judge's rulings were "un-American". Quite, quite different.

Granted, Newt has a "big mouth". Political rhetoric aside, he knows that the president cannot impeach or subpoena anyone. It is the prerogative of congress.

FDR's threat was to have congress increase the supreme court to 11 or more members and then appoint new justices who would vote favourable to the "new deal" programs. The court got the message and nothing came of the plan.
 
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  • #32


Interesting quote of a statement of a former attorney general.
NY Times said:
"It would lead us to become a banana republic, in which administrations would become regimes and each regime would feel it perfectly appropriate to disregard decisions of courts staffed by previous regimes. That's not what we are."

MICHAEL B. MUKASEY, President George W. Bush's attorney general, on Newt Gingrich's statement that the elected branches should be free to ignore judicial decisions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/u...for-gingrichs-tough-talk-about-judiciary.html
 
  • #33


Wow, here comes a constitutional crisis.
 

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