Why Supreme Court opinions are not the “Law of the Land”

By Publius Huldah

Central to the silly arguments made by the “Convention of States Project” (COSP) is their claim that 200 years of Supreme Court opinions have increased the powers of the federal government (as well as legalized practices such as abortion); that all these opinions are “the Law of the Land”; and we need an Article V convention so we can get amendments to the Constitution which take away all these powers the Supreme Court gave the federal government.

But the text of Article V contradicts COSP’s claim. Article V shows that our Constitution can be amended only when three fourths of the States ratify proposed amendments. The Supreme Court has no power to amend our Constitution. And it’s impossible for an amendment to take away powers our Constitution doesn’t grant.

1. First Principles

Let’s analyze COSP’s silly argument. We begin by looking at First Principles:

♦The Judicial Branch was created by Art. III, §1, US Constitution. Accordingly, it is a “creature” of the Constitution. 1

♦The federal government came into existence when the States, acting through special ratifying conventions held in each of the States, ratified the Constitution.2

Since the Judicial Branch is merely a “creature” of the Constitution, it follows that it is subordinate to the Constitution, and is completely subject to its terms. It may not annul the superior authority of the States which created the Judicial Branch when they ratified the Constitution; and as a mere “creature” of the Constitution, it may NOT change the Constitution under which it holds its existence! 4

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Hans
Hans
5 years ago

Still shaking the “Holy Parchment” at Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham … ?

Si vis libertatem, imperium esse delendam.

Publius Huldah
5 years ago
Reply to  Hans

The purpose of government is to secure the rights God gave us.

When there is no government, warlords and bullies lord it over others.

The American People are not victims of “big bad governments” -- they got the governments they voted for. And they WANTED governments which took from others and gave to them. Americans still want their handouts.

Anarchy is not the solution. I’m aware that some think it sounds so cool…. guys who have fantasies of being Barons in the badlands….

Hans
Hans
5 years ago
Reply to  Publius Huldah

The purpose of government is to transfer wealth from people who would not otherwise volunteer to donate their assets, to people and or purposes for which the former disapprove.

That is precisely why the Statists of the early American Republic created the Constitution -- to supplant the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles, there was no “authority” to coerce the several States to supply the treasure of their citizens to a National cause.

“The debate between statism and anarchism (or voluntaryism) is often incorrectly assumed to be a question of whether people are inherently good and trustworthy and therefore need no controllers, or are inherently bad and untrustworthy and therefore need “government” to control them.

In truth, whether humans are all good, all bad, or something in between, the belief in “authority” is still an irrational superstition. But the most popular excuse for “government” -- that people are bad and need to be controlled -- inadvertently exposes the lunacy inherent in all statism.

If human beings are so careless, stupid and malicious that they cannot be trusted to do the right thing on their own, how would the situation be improved by taking a subset of those very same careless, stupid and malicious human beings and giving them societal permission to forcibly control all the others?”

Larken Rose … from “The Most Dangerous Superstition”, pg 27

I should not be coerced to endure the thefts of the “governments other people voted into being”, just so they can get their wish and receive “their handouts” from my pocket.

Robin SuggsRobin
5 years ago

Great post!