Thursday, June 21, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Outlines Importance of Qualified Judges Who Will Not Legislate From the Bench
KANSAS CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt today spoke to a group of distinguished community leaders at the Federalist Society luncheon and outlined his support for qualified judges who will not legislate from the bench.
"I agree with the majority of Missourians and with the beliefs of the American people that a judge's responsibility is to rule on the law, not write it," Blunt said. "In a democratic society, the role of the judiciary is necessarily limited to saying what the law is, not what an individual judge personally believes it should be."
Blunt detailed the importance of returning the judiciary to its proper role through the appointment of judges faithful to the Constitution rather than personal preference. He pointed out that legislatures, not judges, should use tools like imagination, inspiration, and ideology in deciding what the law should be. Judges must say what the law is.
The governor noted the consequences of extremist judges and their impact on our society. He pointed out stark examples of the risks of an overreaching judiciary, such as Dred Scott's legal ordeal or the recent action to overturn 60 years of precedent to allow collective bargaining for government employees. At the Federal level, he noted the eminent domain decision that flew in the face of property rights and rulings on the death penalty.
In the coming months, the governor will appoint a Missouri Supreme Court Judge from a panel of three candidates submitted by the state's bipartisan judicial selection committee. The governor today asked the committee to respect Missouri voters by presenting a slate of nominees who would dutifully interpret Missouri law without regard to their own policy preferences.
The governor also supported efforts this legislative session to provide Missouri voters the opportunity to prevent activist judges from imposing taxation without representation.