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>The SCOTUS has no business in drawing these lines. What's interesting about the US Constitution is that SCOTUS is the final arbiter of the limit and extent of
by keernan 3y ago
>The SCOTUS has no business in drawing these lines.
What's interesting about the US Constitution is that SCOTUS is the final arbiter of the limit and extent of the powers of the three branches of government. The words of the constitution (or statute) might say: 'SCOTUS has no business in drawing these lines' and SCOTUS can simply decide: "Those words do not really mean what they appear to say. We hereby rule that SCOTUS does have the right to draw these lines and hereby do so." (or any other issue you want to imagine).
And there isn't much the other branches of government (or the American people) can do about it other than:
1. impeach enough members of SCOTUS to alter the unfavorable decision;
2. increase the size of SCOTUS and appoint enough members to alter the unfavorable decision; or
3. declare a revolutionary war (and win) and create a new government
SCOTUS is the one branch of government with virtually unlimited and unchecked power; is appointed for life; and is not elected. Although the scope of its power has increased immensely over the past ~225 years, what is amazing is that it has remained in relative "check". IMO there is zero reason to expect that to continue to be true for another 200 years.
- mlindner 3y agoThe check on SCOTUS is that it doesn't have any law enforcing powers. They're just men and women in long cloaks writing things down. Also, SCOTUS members can be impeached and they can say "no that impeachment is invalid" all they like as the police escort them out of the building. Government is not like programming a computer. If everyone treats the government like it has power, then it has power. If everyone collectively agrees it doesn't have power then it starts to lack power.