If President can be impeached, why not judges ?

This past week was rich on the examples of "Judicial Activism". First on Tuesday, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer declared that California Supreme Court withholding of marriage licenses from same-sex couples was "unconstitutional", and it was in a breach of "equal protection of the law". This decision followed in the footsteps of Massachusetts Supreme Court Decision in 2003 that not recognizing same-sex unions as marriage was tantamount to "creating second class citizens". In either case, judges did not bother to provide any sound argument how limiting marriage to one man and one woman actually violates "equal protection of the law" or creates "second class citizens". These judges seem to be oblivious to the fact that marriage never was and never should be an institution open just to anybody. The arguments that giving gay unions the same status as to traditional union between one man and one woman who are not close blood relatives would undermine the credibility and value of the unique thousands-years-old institution known across cultures, national boundaries and history, the institution that has insured social continuity, stability and survival and provided the best known protection and the environment for having or adopting and raising children went largely unheeded. The possibility that any group of people living or socializing together may demand to claim a family status (i.e. why 10 drinking buddies of same or opposite sex living together can't claim a status of a "family" now and adopt children) apparently did not bother the judges either.

Then on Friday, Florida Supreme Court Justice George Greer ordered removal of a feeding tube from Terri Schiavo, a young brain-damaged woman from Florida whose parents for years have been fighting to keep her alive while her still legal husband Michael Schiavo have been determined to legally kill her on the dubious medical ground that she was unrecoverable claiming that it was Terri's wish. The desperate parents were unable to win guardianship of Terri in the Florida or US Federal Justice System. The judges ruling on the case apparently did not ask themselves any of the following questions.

Why they (the judges) should believe Michael claims that it is Terri wish not to be kept alive rather then her parents in the absense of living will or any tangible proof that its indeed Terri's wish ?

Why Michael Schiavo is so eager to have Terri dead after he left Terri years ago and stopped caring for her in the hospital long time ago ?

Why there was no investigation of allegations that Insurance money collected by Michael for Terri's rehabilitation therapy were misused ?

Why Michael did not file for divorce or asked marriage to be annulled for all these years after he moved in with with another woman and had children with her ?

Why Michael does not want to relinquish his guardianship of Terri as Terri's parents asked him to do so repeatedly ?

Why Michael Schiavo does not want to have autopsy performed on her body after Terri dies ?

Why allegations that Michael might have abused Terri and caused her to be in this condition in the past never have never been seriously investigated ?

Now I don't even want to think what Terri and her parents are going through. I just cannot imagine what it feels like to see your own child being starved to death possibly against her and definitely against their own will. How her parents feel when they hear her daughter pleading for life and they feel helpless to do anything ? I (as I'm sure millions of others around the country and the world), as a spectator of this tragic story is now praying with mixture of anger, anguish and hope that either Congress, President Bush or his brother Florida Governor Jeb Bush will issue an executive order stopping this state-sponsored murder of the innocent woman.

The Terri's case however, should be also a call for action to do something about general lack of accountability among judiciary for Terry's life and a number of other less dramatic but also un-Constitutional and amoral decisions, like recognizing gay unions as marriage (with all its privileges including adoption of children) or removal of 10 commandments and other references to American Judeo-Christian heritage from public places. The latest cases of judicial Abuse of power and the basic ignorance and violation of Constitution, common sense and public interest make for an urgent need to take another look at the role and place of the Judiciary in the United States.

Independent and strong Judiciary is indispensable for functioning democracy and the rule of law. However, the continuing examples of disrespect by a number of judges to the voters wishes, their frivolous interpretation of the US or State Constitution, outstepping their Constitutionally defined boundaries as law-interpreters--not lawmakers--and other abuses shows the need for a comprehensive process to held judges accountable for their decisions. There were already proposals for US Congress to use Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution to keep certain issues out of Federal courts reach altogether:

... the supreme Court should have appellate jurisdiction both as to Law and Fact, with such exceptions, and under such Regulations, as the Congress shall make.

In some cases, like Terri Schiavo or any similar case that may happen (God Forbid) in a future, it makes a perfect sense. However, the legitimate concern is that once you remove one issue from the Jurisdiction of the Courts, the others removals may follow to the point that courts can be stripped of any real power to issue a ruling on any law (even when the law is in fact unconstitutional). The long-term solution to judicial abuse of power may be to institute a procedure of judicial impeachment--from the judges sitting in the County Courts all the way to the US Supreme Court. If the President who nominates judges to serve in the Supreme or other Federal Courts can be impeached under the US Constitution, why should his appointees be free from the possibility of the impeachment ? Probably constitutional amendment that would specify the procedure of judicial impeachment should be crafted and presented to the Congress. The details of the procedure (i.e. should it be done by Senate, House of Representatives or both, should it be 2/3 of the votes to impeach the judge or simple majority is enough) I would leave up to Constitutional and Legal experts. The bottom line is that something definitely must be done and done fast to prevent thouse out-of-control leftist judges from playing with People lives and the Country's fate to reflect their worldview.

P.S. This article was posted before Congress stepped in on Sunday and ruled to send the Terri's case to the Federal Courts. Big Thanks to the Congress who had a courage to do the right thing and intervene to save Terri. Still, the need to make judges accountable for the unconstitutional decisions does not go away and even makes it more urgent considering the latest chapter of Terri Schiavo ordeal.