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wildandcrazyrussian,

In my opinion you hit the nail on the head with the phrase "the script of which "Terri Schavo 2005" is but one scene." I also concur with your view that renegade judges are not the sole problem. They are functionaries in a long-range subversion of constitutional government.

Establishing legal precedent is part of a process by which the Judiciary becomes a type of backdoor Legislature. Practices too controversial to be touched by lawmakers are elevated to the level of law while directly contradicting existing statutes. If it is done via subtle enough increments, the creep is hard to spot. After years the good legislators finally revise written laws to conform with those long legislated from the bench. The law's integrity is restored and all is well.

District court judges could not accomplish the task all by themselves. They need the support of the appellate division because extrastatutory rulings are bound to be challenged before they become established opinion. You asked, "What does it mean that the supreme Court can have appellate jurisdiction as to "Law AND Fact"????" Well, obviously the Appellate is not limited to observing legal propriety but can very well examine facts too. That this is hardly done says more about judicial bureaucracy than it does about limitations.

Judges maintain friendships and associations like any other professional fraternity. They share law schools and practices and often entertain symbiotic political ambitions. An appellate judge is naturally biased toward reluctance when it comes to overturning a ruling. For this reason appeal courts often take a minimalist approach.

Appellate judge calls lower court judge on the phone: "Hey Mike, how's the wife? Good." "Say, on this case, did you stay on the pavement?" "Good, just needed to hear it. Anything major iffy? No? Good. OK then, we'll let it sail. Time for a few holes on Sunday? See you then." In reality the process has a few more components, but it largely boils down to the appeals court's taking the lower court's word for it that due process was observed. Is it difficult to imagine that certain rulings might be directed by a powerful network?

There are no doubt judges who take their work seriously and seek to live up to the standard of impartiality. Even they are not impervious to political and social pressures. There are also judges who will bend rules with few compunctions. Judges are human beings, and it would be utopian to think that the range of human traits is oddly different in them.

Judges can and are being bought all the time. Appeals can be steered to the right desk. Political favors can be called in. Political promises can be made. If push comes to shove, blackmail can be used. The press can be made to say whatever is expedient. We do not live in a world dominated by clean living and high thinking, despite the serial fables offered through the bread and circuses culture. The idea that officials operate in a vacuum and follow exclusively their own ideals is not supported by reality.

Discovering agendas and exposing connections is a thankless and therefore rare task. If you are an official you will be branded a whistleblower and find your life taking turns for the worse. If you are a private person you will be labeled a conspiracy nut. If you are a journalist your editor will gently steer you away from stories that are unpopular higher up. Everyone likes to preserve the cozy image of things being basically honest and benevolent. Where one draws the line is a personal choice and collectively translates into the degree public complacency.