Great news from Texas - the constitution

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Got a new judge in Texas and he is a plain speaker. An excerpt from Don Surber:

Readers may recall a judge threw Shelley Luther in jail for seven days because she refused to apologize for re-opening her beauty shop -- Salon à la Mode in Dallas -- amid this unconstitutional and ineffective lockdown.

The governor and the Texas Supreme Court sprang her from jail after two days, and Ted Cruz got a haircut. End of story, right?

But Shelley Luther is not the only star in this farce. Blacklock wrote the majority opinion. He made it so simple, even I could understand it.

He began with a quote, "The Constitution is not suspended when the government declares a state of disaster."

Then he crisply explained it.

Blacklock wrote, "All government power in this country, no matter how well-intentioned, derives only from the state and federal constitutions. Government power cannot be exercised in conflict with these constitutions, even in a pandemic.

Blacklock concluded with this:

"Ideally, these debates would play out in the public square, not in courtrooms. No court should relish being asked to question the judgment of government officials who were elected to make difficult decisions in times such as these. However, when constitutional rights are at stake, courts cannot automatically defer to the judgments of other branches of government. When properly called upon, the judicial branch must not shrink from its duty to require the government’s anti-virus orders to comply with the Constitution and the law, no matter the circumstances."

Emphasis mine - just wow. Spot-on perfect. This is what the separation of powers is all about. Yes, a governor can respond to an emergency but once that emergency has passed and once the people in charge have some perspective, decisions must comply with the Constitution.

Nice to see justice prevail. I also like that his decision fit onto a single sheep of paper. Very clear, unequivocal and to the point.

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This page contains a single entry by DaveH published on May 14, 2020 7:47 AM.

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