Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-04-15
The Supreme Court as a Legislative
Body.

The Supreme court, of the United States
as indeed is true of all Courts-has it's aid
invoked in all sorts of cases, and is asked to
redress all sorts of real and imaginary
wrongs. Until the bred Scott case, how
ever, the court was not much resorted to
to decide political questions, or to aid one
party or the other party in defeating the po-
HtIcal measures of their antagonists. Since
then, frequent attempts have been made 20
use the court for political purposes. As the
judges hold their Offices during good be-
havior, and as lawyers are naturally con-
sentative, 1T has happened that majority Of
the court has not been politically entirely,
IN harmony with the radical and progressive
PARTY of the country for several years and
the Democrats have naturally looked to the
court to decide Republican legislation I'M
constitutional. Judge Woodward, a mem
Der of Congress from Pennsylvania, who,
while Judge the bench of that state
during the war, made himself notorious by
deciding that the draft was unconstitutional
is now pushing this democratic doctrine to
an extreme, and is DESTROYS of adding the
Supreme Court to the Legislative department
OF the government. He has introduced Il
bill which is thus reported
Inv nrsG section provides that whenever
~ny cot Of Con5ross shall DO nv tho
President on the ground of the unconstitu-
tlonaIIty OF any of its provisions, and shall
atterward be enacted into a law over the veto
1t shall be lawful for the President to order
the Attorney General to file in the Supreme
court feIgned issue to test the constitution
atty OF such parts of the enactment as were
specially objected to by him
The second section provides for the service
on the speaker of a certified copy Of :,
teigned issue. whose duty it shall be TO de-
fend the constitutionalty of such enactment.
and the Court shall make all necessary orders
tor bringing the issue to argument at the
earliest practicable period of its session, and
the Court shall file Its written opinion upon
every Constitutional question there has been
raised, and every enactment of such act
as shall be adjudged unconstitutional shall
thenceforth be held and taken to be null and
void, but until such judgement shall be pro
nounced. the act shall be deemed constitu-
tional and valid
The third section makes it legal for the
Attorney General in preparing the issue to
Use the names of real parties having an in
terest, or of fictitious parties, at his dscre-
ton, all costs on both sides to be paid out of
the Treasury.
The Constitution defines the powers of the
Supreme Court as follows
The judicial power shall extend to all
cases, in law and equity, arising under this
constitution, the laws of the United States,
and treaties made, or which shall be made
under their authority" &c.
Lawyers understand what the expression
call cases in law and equity means 1t
means clearly, the court has decided in
the application for an injunction against Gen.
Grants enforcement of the reconstruction
laws, g case = which has proper parties,
and in which the personal or property rights
of those parties are in peril 1t cannot by
any possibility of forced constitution be
made to authorize such bill as Judge Wood
wards, which practically confers legislative
power upon the court
OF course there is no danger that the bill
will pass, but it is worth while to call at
tention to it to show to what extremes
Democrats ready to go in comforting
powers unauthorized by the constitution,
when they suppose these powers can be used
TO further the schemes of their party.