Jefferson on the jurisdiction of the SCOTUS

October 6, 2005

Previously, in a rather lengthy post about the Second Amendment and the necessity thereof, I was presented with an appeal to authority argument- which implied that the Supreme Court was the ultimate and final decision maker, and its authority was absolute.

Jefferson on the jurisidction of the Courts:

[T]o consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions [is] a very dangerous doctrine indeed and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy . . . . The constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing that, to whatever hands confided, with the corruptions of time and party its members would become despots.

For the life of me, I can’t remember where I got this quote–but it seemed topical, at least on a historic interpretation of the constitution (to my previous post) and now, in light of GWB’s recent Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers, I think it’s relevant


Posted in: Potpourri

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