Posted on 06.12.08 4:52PM under The Everglades Room
I was in the car, listening to talk radio at the top of the hour, when I got the news. The Supreme Court had ruled that
Old rock songs only seem ancient. The writ of habeas corpus really is, dating back to at least 1215, when English nobles forced King John to sign a little thing called the Magna Carta, the bedrock of modern constitutional democracy. The “Great Writ” allows one who’s imprisoned to demand a public hearing where the state must present grounds for holding him and charges against him. It may not be suspended except “in cases of rebellion or invasion,” when “public safety may require it.”
For years, I’d been ranting about how the Republic was on life support, and that
In my darkest hours, I’d realized our last line of defense would be the conservative judges who dominated our appellate courts, like the Eleventh Circuit judges who’d resisted being used as political pawns in cases involving stolen elections and feeding tubes. I’d prayed there’d be enough judicial conservatives to save us when push really came to shove. And now, wonder of wonders, the only one left on the high court responsible for installing this ruthless gang in office–through a lawless decision that will be forever ridiculed in Con Law classes everywhere–had written an opinion that said, “this far and no further.”
That uplifting thought reminded me to get back to the radio to hear more about this landmark decision, one that likely won’t ever be ridiculed in any Con Law class. I tuned back in as they came out of commercial, and the news reader said:
I was undistracted, but glad this day to be one of the brotherhood of tattered boxers. Rejoicing that the Republic might cautiously be taken off the ventilator, I pulled out from the curb and switched back to the iPod, just in time to hear ancient drummer Tim Davis sing, “Rise up with the new dawn’s early morning. Feel the sunshine warm upon your face. Tomorrow’s come a long, long way to help you. Yes, it’s your saving grace.”
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