Do the Courts have too much power to make policy from the bench? Consider issues
ID: 334651 • Letter: D
Question
Do the Courts have too much power to make policy from the bench? Consider issues such as abortion, equal access to education, the use of religious symbols in public schools, etc. Should decisions on controversial issues like these be made by Courts or by Legislators? Why? Illustrate your answer with your own research. Do the Courts have too much power to make policy from the bench? Consider issues such as abortion, equal access to education, the use of religious symbols in public schools, etc. Should decisions on controversial issues like these be made by Courts or by Legislators? Why? Illustrate your answer with your own research.Explanation / Answer
While this topic seems to simply represent the debate between the role of legislature and judiciary, it also brings into the picture the troubling trend which is shaking the foundation of our constitution. The constitution has a very definite and defined role for both judiciary and legislature. The legislature is the democratic body which is entitled with the responsibility to create and amend laws. These legislators are the representatives of people and judiciary is the body that is responsible to interpret and apply the laws and preside over legal disputes.
The growing trend where the litigants are using the judiciary as an alternative source for achiving their own alternate political goals and agendas is disturbing. By doing so, the litigants, or even the members of the jury, try to bypass the fundamentals of the constitution and challenges the structure of the constitution itself.
Controversial issues that generate a lot of public interest and are regularly covered by the media become an easy instrument for bypassing the constitutional structure of going through the legislators. The thought to use this channel to gain one’s political objective is appealing as it allows a person to bypass persuading a majority of legislators and the political constituencies these elected officials represent and allows the litigant to focus on winning the heart and mind of a single panel of judges. This reduces difficulties and gives a greater chance of success. It is known fact that to enact a legislation is a cumbersome process, but it is for this very reason that it is the right process to go through. As our legislators create law, it considers the mood of the nation. Law making should be reserved for the people of a nation and their representatives and the courts should exercise their right to correct what’s wrong not to define what’s correct and what’s wrong.
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