1.) Justice
Hugo Lafayette Black was a Supreme Court Justice from 1937 until 1971 and was
appointed to that position by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Justice Black was a
Democrat and represented Alabama in the United States from 1927 until 1937 when
he was appointed to the position of Supreme Court Justice. Black was noted to have been very supportive
of civil rights and liberal policies throughout his career as a Senator and a
Supreme Court Justice. One of the
biggest most landmark court cases Justice Black heard during his time in the
Supreme Court was Engel v. Vitale. This case dealt with the separation of church
and state and public schools beginning the day with a recited prayer. Justice Black delivered the opinion of the
court for this case. Black wrote that the
court had ruled that government written prayers were not to be recited in
public schools and were an unconstitutional violation of the establishment
clause of the First Amendment. I agree with Justice Black on his stance in this
case. I also believe his views on separation of church and state are right and
that there should be a strict wall of separation between church and state.
2.) I
believe that judicial review should be exercised regularly. I feel that it is
very important for the judiciary system to review laws passed and actions of
the other branches of government. This
ensures that the laws passed and actions of the other branches are
constitutional and does not impede on the civil liberties and equal rights of
all citizens of the United States. It is
the job of the courts to protect us as citizens from unjust laws and practices
that may arise within the national or state level governments.
3.) I
believe that the framers knew what was right when they wrote the Constitution. However,
they knew what was right in that time period and for what was happening in the
everyday life of America back then.
Times change and people change and our nation has changed dramatically
since the Constitution was written. With
the changing times and changing nation our Constitution must be allowed to grow
with it so that fair and just decision can be made for all citizens and it can
ensure that everyone shares equal civil liberties. Many people would disagree
with this reasoning of an un-strict constitution. But there is no possible way
the framers of the Constitution could predict or know the future of the country
and could not prepare for how much our nation has evolved, grew, and changed
since 1787 when they drafted the Constitution.
I commented on the following blogs:
Edward King: http://edking1963.blogspot.com
Tinisha Key: http://keytd.blogspot.com
Robert Cook: http://rcookclassblog.blogspot.com
