Has the Judicial Branch Taken Control of the Legislative Branch?

Someone may try to take away my "liberal card" for writing this, but I'm completely on board with Newt Gingrich's proposal to debate the excessive power taken by our judicial branch of government. It's called "judicial review."

But unlike Gingrich, who typically goes off the deep end, we should never be able to subpoena judges we disagree with. That would only threaten and politicize the judicial branch of government.

I don't know where this debate will lead, but it does call into question the ability of the court to control and overturn the legislative branch's decisions. Right now we have Alexander Hamilton's vision of the courts, but Abraham Lincoln in his First Inaugural Address said this:

“If the policy of the government upon vital questions affecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court…the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.

I really like the back and forth here by Gingrich and Bob Scheiffer:



In fact, the following Q & A from the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau offers a glimpse into one possible solution:

Q: If courts could not declare statutes unconstitutional under the doctrine of judicial review, how could unconstitutional statutes get corrected?

A: The courts could more clearly state that certain statutes should be amended. The governor could be more judicious in using the veto. The legislature could perform a constitutional review of its acts. If the government did not correct the error, the people could force a change at the ballot box. The press could highlight these issues.