Posted on 07/08/2013 10:39:37 AM PDT by kimtom
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Of course anyone who paid attention to ABC's "Schoolhouse Rock" within the last 40 years knows this is the preamble to the Constitution. In this day and age, when Washington legislation weighs more than most Thanksgiving turkeys, the founders of our country were able to succinctly describe the purpose and scope of the federal government in four eloquent lines.
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."
This one's not as well known, but it's the Tenth Amendment ...........
(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...
"...Nullification is a legal theory in which a state can "nullify" any federal law that it deems unconstitutional...."
Interesting Thought.......
Ddin’t we try this a few years back?
Good question,
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the validity of the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 in the case of Prigg v. Pennsylvania, 41 U.S. 539 (1842). The Court rejected Pennsylvania’s argument that Congress had no constitutional authority to enact the Fugitive Slave Act, finding that the Act was authorized by the Constitution’s fugitive slave clause (Article IV, Section 2). The Court found that Pennsylvania’s personal liberty law was unconstitutional because it conflicted with the Constitution’s fugitive slave clause.[61] The Court thus rejected Pennsylvania’s attempt to nullify the Fugitive Slave Act. However, the Supreme Court implied that states might be able to pass laws denying the assistance of state officials in enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act, leaving enforcement to federal officials....
...^ The Supreme Court said that “the States cannot, therefore, be compelled to enforce” the Fugitive Slave Act. Prigg, 41 U.S. at 615.
The thing that bothers me about individual states nullifying a federal law is the following. If federal lawmakers actually respected the Constitution that they swear to protect and defend (<- that’s the problem) then federal lawmakers in both Houses of Congress should have killed any unconstitutional bills.
Another way of looking at this is the following. I have a problem when only one state actually nullifies a questionable federal law. It would make more sense to see many, if not most states, nullify a bad-apple federal law.
Maybe if one state did, many will follow....
(sort of a “legal rebellion”.....)
then regardless what SCOTUS said, jurist can nullify any prosecution.
As far as anything being nullified, the whole Constitution and Bill of Rights are contracts which neither “We The People” nor the government has upheld the tenants of. For all practical purposes, they are null and void as any broken contract would be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification
William Penn case covered in the above link.
Most judges will not ALLOW jury nullification to be mentioned in their court even though it is a foundation stone of American history.
That is why we, as Americans, need to educate ourselves about nullification. Also, as much as I believe in the rule of law, our courts no lover serve that purpose. We now have a moral obligation to be "truthful but not helpful" during jury selection, to give the "least untruthful" answers, and to make sure at least one decent person gets on each jury when possible.
Any thread concerning nullification must include Nully.
Of course, horse!
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