Opinions

Alaska should rein in its courts

Sen. Shelley Hughes used some very unusual and strong language in her opening statement at the Judiciary Committee hearing in support of Senate Joint Resolution 4: “usurpation.”

Definition: “To overthrow. To exercise power in an unauthorized or illegal way.”

In the Declaration of Independence, King George III was cited for 27 “usurpations.” With the Alaska Supreme Court, we can count eight, six of which were triggered by abortion. There are probably a lot more.

1. The court overthrew the people’s and the Legislature’s sole ability to amend the constitution, found in Art. XIII, Sec. 1, in both Baker v. City of Fairbanks and Valley Hospital cases. There is no constitutional power for the courts to formulate new amendments.

In the Valley Hospital case of 1997, they said: “(W)e are under a duty to develop additional constitutional rights and privileges under our Alaska Constitution if we find such fundamental rights and privileges to be within the intention and spirit of our local constitutional language and to be necessary for the kind of civilized life and ordered liberty which is at the core of our constitutional heritage.”

Translation: “We know better than the people and the Legislature. Get out of our way as we invent things.”

In 1970, citing Baker v. City of Fairbanks, “(This court is) at liberty to make constitutional progress in Alaska by our own interpretations, as long as we measure up to the national standards which are required by the United States Supreme Court.”

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Translation: “The U.S. Constitution means whatever the federal Supreme Court says. No other branch of government has either the competence or authority in these matters.”

2. In the marriage amendment effort: by striking language from the legislature’s formulated document in 1998, Bess v. Ulmer. There is no authority for the judiciary to modify or delete the wording as submitted by the Legislature.

3. The court stole the “power of the purse” from the Legislature in 2001, in State v. Planned Parenthood, found in Article IX, Sec. 1, even though it says “This power shall never be surrendered … suspended or contracted away.” This is where public funding of abortion mysteriously exists in Art. 1, Sec. 22′s “privacy”.

4. The court overthrew the Legislature’s clearly defined prerogative of defining and implementing the parameters of “privacy” in Art. 1, Sec. 22, also in the 1997 Valley Hospital case.

5. In just the past year, the court has stolen the governor’s line-item veto power when he docked its budget $344,700, the exact amount paid out by the state to fund abortion. The fact that state dollars are still spent on abortion was ordered by the court, in total defiance of the Legislature. Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s initial courage wilted before the case-law oligarchy, proving himself to be constitutionally in over his head.

6. By the same action, the court has stolen the Legislature’s power to override the governor’s line-item veto. Again, like the governor, the Legislature’s wooden-headed response was to ignore this obvious usurpation.

7. In 2020, the court seized the power of defining election procedures in Arctic Village v. Meyer by refusing to allow the witness signature requirement for mail-in voting.

8. And since this was a federal election where presidential electors were chosen, it also violated the federal Constitution in Art. II, Sec. 1, par. 2: the Legislatures shall decide how the presidential electors are chosen.

With her opening statement, Hughes broke some very important ice: she declared that the state supreme court had “usurped” the state constitution. And we can also add the federal. These are impeachable offenses, of course.

The next step is to consider judicial impeachment. Liberals will be shocked, of course. They will say that Republicans should never dare to even think of such a thing. They will say that it would violate the balance of power and create a constitutional crisis.

But we already are in a constitutional crisis, and have been for a very long time. This will initiate the proper understanding of constitutions that is long overdue.

We do not have three “co-equal” branches of government. The Legislature is supreme, and the courts are meant to be the weakest and least influential. You can find that in the famous Federalist Papers, especially No. 78.

Were he still alive, Alexander Hamilton would urge you to check it out.

Bob Bird is a radio talk-show host for KSRM in Kenai and Chairman of the Alaskan Independence Party.

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