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Per the Sixth Amendment, don't forget that the jury has the right to judge *the law itself* in addition to the facts of the case.
And you are right about education. People are taught *what* to think rather than *how* to think. Please see my essay on education at http://www.alicelillieandher.blogspot.com.
Thank you.
Alice
John
I am a constitutional law researcher based in Minnesota. I was taught how to study and interpret the constitution by an individual that spent 30 years of his life and probably over 50 thousand hours studying and compiling research in this area. He died in 2008 without once ever petitioning the courts.
The State and federal taxing powers. Licensing and administration. Police powers. Contract and property rights. Gun control.
As for the constitution. Its still there. Under most circumstances, it simply cannot be reached because of complicated relationships created through unknown waivers.
An example:
Property law and building codes.
The State, under its police powers has the power to regulate building construction, alteration, or repair. It creates administrative agencies to oversee those activities. Here in Minnesota, as determined by the MN Court of Appeals, the Code regulates the “ACT” of building.
Most engaged in the activity are contractors and engaged in an activity subject to regulation under a license. The Code is written by the same agency that licenses.
The power to license includes the power to regulate under the license.
That would mean that the Code would fall within the context of business regulations. Hence in MN, the Codes controlling statutes fall under Chapter Title “Trade Regulation/Consumer protection Laws”
The Code must be enforced equally upon all whom would fall within its scope.
The law must be enforced within the purpose and context of the political/economic aspects of this States police powers it was created under at its inception.
THE RUB:
Substance over form. What is the State really doing?
Its placing restrictions on one mans right of property through a third party regulatory scheme (licensed activity) by a licensee who lacks property and therefore standing to argue injuries or wrongs or that those restrictions are unreasonable or arbitrary.
It is beyond the competency of the courts to engage in any such collateral inquiry.
In other words, the licensee cannot reach into the right of the property owners as a means to limit the powers of the State to regulate what amount to be a business/occupations privilege. The very powers upon which the Code is created. Judicially untouchable
Moreover, regulation of the privilege under the license poses a political question upon the courts.
The same laws created under the same political economic aspects of this States police powers are being lifted up and out of context and are applied upon the property owners themselves via integration with zoning permits.
Like and similar circumstances? Constitutional/judicial Due Process for challenge of a code violation? Hardley. The law must be enforced equally upon all.
Where then does this leave property and its constitutional/judicial protection?
Unreachable. The power to regulate INCLUDES the power to PROHIBIT under the license. Application to the privilege includes the acceptance of the conditions under the license.
The CONSTITUTION and it protections are irrelevant.
It get better.
The State also has the power to impose an occupation tax upon its licensees. This would fall within the context of an excise or privilege tax. Based on the value of the materials, labor, overhead and profit of the work done.
Instead they call it a permit fee and allow municipalities to contract Code enforcement to LLC’s to save money.
Revenue derived from a fee is a TAX. If the State is prohibited from imposing an EXCISE TAX upon civil liberties (property) (power to tax is power to destroy) how can the municipality hand an LLC the power to derive revenue from a so called fee if they themselves are prohibited from doing so?
Where the power to tax exist in this State, it cannot be suspended or contracted away. It must be collected for public purposes.
AND, if the State has the power to tax the occupation based on valuation of the work done, how can a private for profit LLC move into the constitutionally exclusive sphere of an occupation tax whereby deriving revenue from a fee for private purposes?
Where the power to tax exist the privilege of corporate profit and gain cannot displace it.
HMMM
And what of the constitution?
Again. Irrelevant.
We are all being taxed and regulated as if we are mere trespassers on our own property. And the courts sit by idle doing exactly as they are suppose to....as what is left of this once great republic burns. Think mere procedural due process under a licensed and taxable privilege as distinguished from constitutional/judicial due process involving an activity that is a bona fide civil liberty.
If the law is to be enforced equally upon all, which form of due process trumps? How does the court sit in relation to the “RIGHT” as that right is affected by the enforcement of the law?
Are we to believe that the courts would apply an entirely separate standard of scrutiny upon the codes provisions depending on whether or not an actual right was exercised and possessed?
Sincerely
Mark
Dear John W. Whitehead,
As a Yellow Dog Democrat it was an easy and delightful read of your opinions in your current article. I am a freelance stage director and spend time in lots of different venues. At the moment I am in the small, highly Republican town of Mt. Carmel, Illinois. It is so politically partisan that the local paper is called THE DAILY REPUBLICAN. Seeing your column in this "rag" I almost skipped it, being pretty certain that it probably would be more "Fox News" cant. Happily, I did not skip it.
Thanks for so cogent and well reasoned a summary of what has gone wrong with our country. The only thing you omitted that I would love to see in print is a repudiation of the Supreme Court's right wing majority for ignoring their own bias toward "states rights" and then blatantly intruding into the Florida recount process and thus stealing for Bush an election that most voters thought ought to have gone to Gore.
Keep up the good work.
Tom
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