You call this justice?

Click this for the article that inspired tonight's post.

I'm not going to argue about the specifics of the case in question in the article. I'm just not going to touch that. What I want to talk about is the idiocy involved in the judicial branch of our government.

If you'll bear with me for a moment, let's remind ourselves what exactly the branches of government are supposed to do. The legislative branch makes the laws. The executive branch enacts and enforces the laws. The judicial branch interprets the laws. There is a system of checks and balances in place to keep each branch from becoming too powerful. The President can veto legislation. Congress can override the veto with a supermajority. The courts can strike down a law as unconstitutional.

But why exactly is it set up like that? Why is one branch of government having "too much power" such a bad thing? We all seem to agree that almost nothing productive ever happens in Washington, and often it's due to partisan gridlock. If one branch had control, they would be able to do things much faster than if it took everyone working together. The problem is that we cannot trust one person or one group, one third of our government, to know what's best for us.

Remember what happened the last time we had a government ruled by a single person/group? The American Revolution happened. Because that group viewed us as inferior, as subjects, not as equals. They felt that our existence was solely for their benefit. They decided that their luxury was more important than our liberty. We refused to accept that - because it wasn't Britain that made America strong. It sure as hell wasn't Parliament. It was a group of people who came over here, people who faced uncertainty, hardship, suffering, and toil. It was people who longed for a new life, a life in which they would not have to sacrifice their own needs or desires for the sake of anyone else. It was people determined to live in freedom. And they realized that they were all in this together. They had to look out for each other, because nobody else was around (except the Natives but they were occasionally not too friendly) to watch their backs. The pioneers, the pilgrims, the settlers, the foundations of our nation were built upon a sense of equality among everyone - because everyone deserves to be equally free.

And no, I'm not going to discuss the issue of slavery in the New World here. We all agreed a long time ago... that was a mistake. Moving on.

The judicial system, people often feel, is there to punish those who break the law. But the way I see it, you have to look at the law itself. You have to understand why breaking the law is bad. Why is it illegal to drink and drive? Because you're much more likely to get in an accident? Almost. It's illegal because if you drive drunk, you are more likely to get in an accident with another human being. You are more likely to infringe upon another person's freedom to not have massive bills for vehicle repair or medical treatment. Most importantly, you are more likely to infringe upon another person's inalienable right to life.

The courts are not there to punish us. The courts are there to protect us. The courts are there to protect our freedom. They are the shield we use to defend ourselves against each other - and against our own government.

"We can't be outcome driven," said Anne Tompkins, the U.S. attorney in Charlotte. "We've got to make sure we follow the law, and people should want us to do that."

Anne... you're wrong. We must be outcome driven. And the outcome must be that liberty is protected. If these people are innocent, the government is infringing upon their liberty by keeping them behind bars. The appeals process in this country is absolutely horrific if dozens of people who, according to a federal court decision, are innocent can't even get hearings.

The reason the statue of Justice is blind is because she does not see our differences - she sees us all as equals, she recognizes that we are all entitled to the same freedoms. Justice is not blind devotion to the rule of law. Justice is liberty. The court is there to protect liberty, no matter the cost. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals sought to protect liberty with its decision. Anyone standing in the way of the implementation of that decision is guilty of dozens of counts of infringing on the freedom of an American citizen.