The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-03-21
IN BAD FORM.

IN BAD EORM.
By the constitution the judicial power in
the United States, consisting of the supreme
court and such inferior courts as Congress
may from time to time establish, IS made
coordinate department in the government.
1t is created an umpire, and its high func-
ton is to determine which enactments of
the legislature shall stand as law and
which shall not. The power upon which
that high responsibility devolves may well
be considered a coordinate power with
that which enacts laws. Those who main
tain that the highest assertion of SOW
ereignty is the making of laws, must admit
that the tribunal that canvasses those en-
actments and has the power to determine
which is and which is not in harmony with
the fundamental laws of the land, and hence
the power to say which enactments shall
and which shall not stand as law is GER
tainly, at least equal if not superior to the
legislative power.
It is part of the constitution Itself that
the CONSTITUTION and the laws of the
United States which shall be made in pur-
suance thereof \ shall be the su-
preme law of the land, and the judges in
every state shall be bound thereby, any
thing in the constitution or laws of any
state to the contrary Notwithstanding.
The clause of the constitution which makes
the above declaration effective, which Gre
ates and clothes the umpire with authority
sufficient for the delicate task imposed upon
him, is the following: 1.-THE judicial power
of the United States shall be vested in one
supreme court and in such inferior courts
as the Congress may from time to time
ordain and establish The judicial
power shall extend to all cases, in law and
equity, arising under the constitution, the
laws of the United States, and treaties
made under their authority"
The Importance Of the department thus
created and empowered was so far under
stood by those who framed the constitution,
that they sought by every reasonable
means within their power to make it non
partisan. From this department alone the
trainers of our government sought to re-
move the influence of party politics. With
a view TO the accomplishment of this de
sirable object the offices of supreme and
associate judges were made appointive in
stead of elective; and Furthermore, to the
end that they might be undisturbed by the
fortunes, good or ILL., of political parties, the
constitution provides that they shall hold
Office during good behavior; and their com
pensation is not to be diminished during
their continuance in Office. Such are the
safeguards thrown about the judicial
power in the United States, in order to
make it Independent of party influence.
no
in truth, that it has been strictly
non-partisan. Still, it was laudable effort
to make it so, as far as the wit of man could
bring it to pass; and it is desirable that it
should be preserved such as the trainers of
the constitution sought to make it. tits to
the interest of all parties that it should be
so preserved; and anything that tends in
the direction of making it anything else
than bipartisan is to be regretted. Es-
pecially is any expression from the judges
themselves in relation to the matter to be
deplored. It is because of this that the re
marks of Judge BLATCHFoRD at the dinner
given at the Arlington hotel, Washington,
to the new secretary of the navy, are de
serving of censure. In our opinion Judge
BLATCHFoRD forgot the true dignity of his
position when he said on that occasion:
I believe that I speak the sentiment Of every
~ m al this table ween l express my own sen
timents as a member Of the high tribunal Of
which I am member, that one great, high and
patriotic victory of the recent election was that
Ii saved the supreme court. In the course of
human events it is quite probable that during
the term of the President upon which we have
Just entered. there may be sufficient changes in
the body of that court that if the vacancies be
made which may be made, not that speak with
any anticipation that they will be made, but by
death or resignation, If these vacancies should
be filed by others they will not be veterans OF
other than the Republican party. This has been
70 me one of the greatest circumstances of com
fort in the result OF the election.
1t is but natural that the Republicans
should be elated at the success which
secured to them both the executive and
legislative branches of the government,
but to rejoice that that branch Of the govern
ment which in theory at least, is supposed
to be above the effect of party failure or
success, and be non-partisan, to rejoice at
the prospects of that falling into the hands
of the Republican party, and hence becom-
ing partisan, is calculated to weaken the
confidence of the people in that tribunal as
an impartial umpire in deciding upon ques-
tions Of constitutional law. But when that
rejoicing is voiced by one of the members
of that tribunal, it is doubly in bad form,
and more mischievious in its i'll effects.
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