|
|
Article: Taking liberties: lawyers above the law. (judicial authority's legislative powers)(Column)
- Article from:
- Commonweal
- Article date:
- October 25, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Commonweal Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
The younger of my two sons has just begun law school. What a great country. For years I have been an underpaid columnist, yet within a short time my son can look forward to being an overpaid lawyer. And all this in two generations!
This past summer, before he left for school, he and I would sometimes discuss one of my pet peeves, the usurpation (as I see it) of legislative authority by the courts, especially the United States Supreme Court.
I would probably have been unhappy with the lawmaking imperialism of the courts in any case, but my unhappiness is aggravated by my experience as a state legislator. I spent twelve years in the Rhode Island Senate, and ...