Update

Judicial Overreach and the Threat to the Rule of Law

June 28, 2021

Jul 16, 2024

Editorial credit: Shutterstock.com

The foundation of the rule of law rests on the public’s trust and confidence in our justice system. When the Supreme Court decided that a President is essentially immune from prosecution, its far-reaching decision abandoned the fundamental principle that a court decides disputes on the facts before it, not the facts it wants. Nonetheless, the majority crafted a decision to match its radical ideology. 

It is no longer appropriate to refer to the Roberts majority as conservative. This country has lived through Courts who expressed both traditionally liberal and traditionally conservative ideologies for decades. Rather, the Roberts majority represents a radical viewpoint that violates centuries of constitutional principles in its decisions.

 This overreach directly leads to the decision by Judge Aileen Cannon who, after slow-walking the classified documents criminal case against the former President for more than a year, has now dismissed it entirely. In doing so, she has finally succeeded in what has seemed to be her goal from the outset: delay the case and deny any effort to seek justice. 

Judge Cannon, like the Supreme Court who may ultimately be the final arbiter of her decision, cannot be dismissed as a young and inexperienced judge who is in over her head. Her dismissal culminates her past judicial overreach on behalf of the former President. 

Of particular significance, Judge Cannon cites several times to the concurrence by Justice Thomas in which he mused that Jack Smith’s appointment as Special Prosecutor violated the law. In effect, Justice Thomas invited the decision that Judge Cannon has now served up to him. In the wreckage of this call and response, the rule of law now teeters.

 LDAD will continue our efforts to ensure the norms and principles of our justice system survive these most difficult times. For example, over the next weeks, we will be sharing our analysis of the specific threats posed by Project 2025 to the rule of law.

But all of us must play a role in this work. There is no time for lamenting. Speak up. Write. Call your elected representatives. Plan your own run for office. Volunteer. Convene programs to educate your community about the ways in which the rule of law is under threat. Engage in civil discourse at every opportunity. 

No one can be a bystander to the dismantling of the rule of law and our democratic institutions. Thank you for your continued support of our work.

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