Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1911-08-16

" 4Ses Just aud beneficial government
for all the people.
II Is said you can always trust the
people TO do justice. If that means all
The people and they all agree. YOU can.
But ordinarily they do not an sgree.
and the maxim IS Interpreted to mean
that you can always trust a majority
OF the people. This is not invariably
true; and every Limitation imposed by
the people upon the power of the ma
1ority IN their constitutions is an ad-
mission that Il is not always true.
NO honest. clear-headed man. how
ever enthusiastic over popular govern
ment, can deny that the unbridled ex-
preston OF the majority of a com
munity, converted hastily into law or
action, would sometimes make a gov
ernment tyrannical and cruel. Consti-
tuuons are checks upon the hasty ac-
ion of the majority. They are the
self-imposed restraints of a whole peo-
pie upon q majority Of them to secure
sober action and respect for the
rights of the minority and of the in
dividual in his relation to other indi-
viduals and in his relation to the
whole people in their character as a
state or government.
The constitution distributes the
functions of government into three
branches--the legislative, to make
these laws, the executive to execute
them. and the judicial to decide in
cases arising before II the rights of
the individual as between him and
others and as between him and the
government.
This division of government into
three separate branches has always
been regarded as great security for
the maintenance Of free institutions,
and the security is only firm and as
sured when the judicial branch is in
dependent and impartial.
The legislative and executive
branches are representative of the
majority of people. which elected
them in guiding the course of the
government within the limits of the
constitution. They must act for the
whole people, of course: but they may
properly follow, and usually ought to
follow, the views of the majority
which elected them in respect to the
governmental policy best adapted to
secure the welfare of the whole peo-
pie.
But the judicial branch of TIE gov
ernment Is not representative of II
majority of the people in any such
sense, even If the mode of selecting
judges is bv popular election. In a
proper sense. judges are servants of
the neople; that is they are doing
work which must be done for the gov
ernment and in the interest of all the
people, but ii is not work In the doli,E
of which they are to follow the will
of the majority except as that is en-
bodied In statutes lawfully enacted ac-
cording to constitutional limitati~ ms.
They are not popular representa-
tives. On the contrary, to fill their
office, properly. they must be inde-
pendent. They must decide every
question which comes before them,
according to law and justice. II this
question is between individuals they
will follow the statutes or the unwrit-
ten law. IL no statute applies, and they
take the unwritten law growing ont of
tradition and custom from previous
judicial decisions
III statute or ordinance. Affecting
case before them is not lawfully tn-
acted, because II violates the Constitu-
ton adopted by the people, then they
must ignore the statute and decide tie
question as If the statute had never
been passed. Their power is a judi
cial power, imposed by the people on
the judges by the written constitu-
tion.
In early days, some argued that
the obligations of the constitution OPP
Grated directly on the conscience OF
the legislature and only in that matter
and that II was TO be conclusiNely pre-
sumed tnat Whatever was dohe py the
legislature was constitutional. But
such a view ala not OBTAIN with our
courageous ana lar-
sighted statesmen ana Judges, ana II
was soon settied that II was tne duty
OF Judges IN cases properly arlslhs pe-
tore tnefn 10 Apply the IA" ana SO 10
ueclare What was the law, ana that II
What purported TO pe statutory law
was al variance WIN 'ne luIluanuei.ai
law !. G., me constitution the seem
ing statute was not Jaw AT an, was NOT
Dlhulhg on the courts the mulNlauhls
OF any prahch OF tne goVernnlen' anu
that IL was the outy OF the JuuBe 30 10
ueuiue. u-,
Ihis power cohIerred on ,he Juuici-
aly III ou. 10TH Oh soNetnmien. 10
uhlque III 'no n's'ory Oh soNeil'''el.9 ~
desarvea tbe adn,iraIior ond common
datio,, oe ~ ..,or,d +, 1,i,,as 70 our
tud;ciary a noei.Jnr .iahar strongar
q "a mora rasnons;h,a than that ~ tba
jrd,ciarv of anv othar countrv and
,roro affaotiveIy, aacura. adhorence IN
tha f,ndamarta, ,,,i,, of 49, nnonlo
what ha,,o soid hae haap 70 l;ttla
nurnose n II has NOT shawn that
i1dees' TO fulfilI their functions prop-
erlv in our popular government. must
he more indenendent than in anv
other form of government, and that
the need of independence is greatest
wherc tho individual is ono litiRant