Sunday, April 03, 2005

The Sovereign Source

Via Advice Goddess, I came across this piece of proposed legislation:

'Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Supreme Court shall not have jurisdiction to review, by appeal, writ of certiorari, or otherwise, any matter to the extent that relief is sought against an element of Federal, State, or local government, or against an officer of Federal, State, or local government (whether or not acting in official personal capacity), by reason of that element's or officer's acknowledgement of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.'.


Somebody with a legal background, please tell me this doesn't mean what I think it means. And if it does, I have only one question: Which God?

Here are a few options:

Allah
Baha'i
Buddha
Brahms/Vishnu/Shiva
God
Kami
Ahura Mazda
Yahweh

3 Comments:

At 8:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ema,
The goal of the legislation is to remove cases like the Ten Commandments Judge Roy Moore case from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Actions take to "acknowledge God as the sovereign source" could not be litigated in the Supreme Court.

That's the initial purpose for it. Who knows what craziness they could eventually interpret it to mean...

Maya
dc.democrat@gmail.com

 
At 1:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It also means we don't have to, and will not follow international law, or use any sort of comparative law when we make ours. This means UN & other treaties, or using any type of international norms as any basis for rulings.

What's also strange is that this denies any federal appeals, and, it looks like, state appeals to federal courts, which would mean that state law has no appeal or review, which doesn't sound kosher to me. I will snoop around law school and see what I can find. I wonder what this would mean if a judge or other official decided to override the democratic process or declare a law unconstitutional because it goes against god's law...?

S. 250 & H.R. 1070, on Thomas, since the search link doesn't work.

 
At 6:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just to let you know, "Baha'i" isn't a name for God. Baha'i is a religion and (english speaking) Baha'is refer to God as God.
As for the legislation, that just seems a little weird to me... glad I don't live in the US.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home