Opinion ID: 1704912
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The General Welfare

Text: A fundamental principle underlying all legal proceedings is the search for the truth. Once the truth is uncovered, we assume that a remedy can be fashioned. The present case posed a simple question: Who won the presidential election in Florida? The answer, in the eyes of many, also was simple: The truth lies in the vaults and storage rooms throughout the state where the untabulated ballots of thousands of Floridians are sequestered. A second deeply rooted principle is the right of suffrage. The right to vote, and to have each vote counted, is a preeminent civil right [2] and has been won at great cost. It was not too far in our nation's past that throngs of citizens marched in the streets to protest the suppression of this right and risked being beaten with nightsticks and set upon with tear gas, fire-hoses, and dogs. Some were jailed. A few-men, women, and childrenwere killed. The suppression of this right is now anathema to the nation. The right to vote, and to have each vote counted, goes to the very heart of this case. [3] Both the search for the truth and the right to vote are of paramount importance, but they are circumscribed by a higher, overarching concernthe general welfare of our democracy. The general welfare is informed by our law. [4] The law infuses the fabric of our society and breathes life into all our legal principles. Inherent in the law are the basic concepts of fairness, reliability, and predictability; and the constitutional safeguards of due process and equal protection were designed to promote these interests. Although the pursuit of the truth and the preservation of the right to vote are worthy goals, they cannot be achieved in a manner that contravenes these principles.