The February 24 issue of Legal Times has this interesting article by Tony Mauro, on how a pending 2nd amendment case, McDonald v Chicago, might strengthen the entire Bill of Rights, by settling that the entire Bill of Rights restricts state governments. As the article explains, the current state of the law has a piecemeal application of whether various freedoms in the Bill of Rights apply to state government or not.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
Well all but two parts of the Federal Bill of Rights apply to the States.
The 2nd Amendment does not, but the Wash D.C. cases applies it to the Federal government.
In State cases, a grand jury does not have to be used, mostly for financial reasons and they are not the best method.
I’d like to see it brought back as mandatory. We’d see an earthquake of reform in the criminalization of America, since grand juries can be more finicky about indictments, and prosecutors have way too much power for a politicized position anyway.
published websiye from answer.com,
Well, Grand Juries are mandatory in Federal cases, but not in State. They can cost a lot of $$$ and frankly it is said (with much truth) that a Grand Jury would indict a ham sandwhich.
If their is no GJ, then the State will use a preliminary hearing process, which goes before a judge.
paulie Says:
February 22nd, 2009 at 11:08 am
I wouldn’t include the Libertarian Party in the same category with the other two [Constitution Party and Republican Party – as bourgeois parties], although a lot of members are; but many of us are much more left leaning, and certainly not bourgeois.
Phil Sawyer responds:
Well, “paulie,” after giving all of this some more thought, I still think that my theory is correct (that anarchists can not be real leftists and/or socialists).
In order to fully create and protect socialism, it is necessary for the revolutionary movement to obtain all the levers of power of the state; i.e., the executive, legislative, judicial, police, and military branches of the government.
Anarchism, by definition, is “a political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups.” That sort of thing would not work and would give you a society like Mexico, for example.
Courts should not tie up stats’ hands when it comes to common-sense gun control laws.