The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Removal of Justices and Judges

In my Article, "Judges, Not Lords", I address the problem of Justices and Judges who rule beyond the boundaries of the Constitution or the Law. It is an unfortunate fact that in today's judicial system, judges often go beyond the scope of their responsibilities. When a judge issues a ruling utilizing convoluted reasoning or stretching the law in which it was never intended to do, they are corrupting the Constitutional and the democratic process. A judge is responsible for making sure that the law is equally applied to all who come before them. Their holdings, rulings, and decisions should be based primarily on the law as it is written or the intentions of the lawgivers as expressed during the legislative process. Laws are created to ensure a civil society. If a law, or judicial rulings and decisions, is convoluted or distorted, it cannot be followed by the members of the society.

As in my Article on “Executive Officers Removal”, the only way to remove a Justice or Judge is by the impeachment process, and the impeachment process does not allow for the removal of a Justice or Judge who rules beyond the boundaries of the Constitution or the Law.

Under the Constitution, a Supreme Court Justice must take the following Oath of Office:

“I, [NAME], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

In addition to this oath, under Title 28, Chapter I, Part 453 of the United States Code, each Supreme Court Justice takes the following oath:

"I, [NAME], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as [TITLE] under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.''

It is also true that all other Judges in the Judicial Branch must also take these two Oaths of Office before becoming a Judge.

Therefore, I would like to see Congress pass a law that would allow for the removal of a Justice or Judge who rules beyond the boundaries of the Constitution or the Law and thus violates their Oath of Office. The removal of a judge is fraught with potential Constitutional, legal, political, and partisan ramifications. It should, therefore, be very difficult to remove a judge. On balance, I believe that we need this law to reign in the problems of Justices or Judges who rule beyond the boundaries of the Constitution or the Law. This change can also be viewed as a check and balance against the powers of the Judicial Branch. This law, or a Constitutional Amendment if necessary, should be structured as follows:

No Supreme Court Justice, Appellate Court Judge, or District Court Judge may be removed from their office while serving during Good Behavior or Constitutional Jurisprudence. Good Behavior shall be defined as not committing any Treason, Bribery, or any High Crimes or Misdemeanors. Constitutional Jurisprudence shall be defined as not issuing any court rulings that fall outside the scope of their vested Judicial Constitutional duties and responsibilities. A Supreme Court Justice, Appellate Court Judge, or District Court Judge may be removed during their term of office for not exercising Good Behavior or Constitutional Jurisprudence. Such removal shall be on a recommendation for the removal of a Justice or Judge by the President or a three-fifths vote of no confidence by the House of Representatives of Congress to the United States Senate. Such removal by the Senate shall be by a two-thirds vote for a Supreme Court Justice, a three-fifths vote for an Appellate Court Judge, and a majority vote for a District Court Judge by the full Senate for the removal of said Justice or Judge.

This removal process, along with Term Limits for Justices and Judges that I have proposed in my ‘Judges, Not Lords’ article, would go a long way in reigning in Justices or Judges who rule beyond the boundaries of the Constitution or the Law. It would also temper their rulings to ensure that they are Judges and not Lords.