Using a "forgotten" power.ITEM: On September 23, the Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. reported that "the House passed legislation [today] that would prevent the Supreme Court from ruling on whether the words 'under God' should be stricken from the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance, in full, Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, oath that proclaims loyalty to the United States. and its national symbol. .... The bill which the House approved, 247-173, would prohibit federal courts, including the Supreme Court, from hearing cases involving the pledge and its recitation rec·i·ta·tion n. 1. a. The act of reciting memorized materials in a public performance. b. The material so presented. 2. a. Oral delivery of prepared lessons by a pupil. b. and would prevent federal courts from striking the words 'under God' from the pledge." This is the second time this year the House had passed a bill to limit the appellate jurisdiction APPELLATE JURISDICTION. The jurisdiction which a superior court has to bear appeals of causes which have been tried in inferior courts. It differs from original jurisdiction, which is the power to entertain suits instituted in the first in stance. Vide Jurisdiction; Original jurisdiction. of the Supreme Court, and the jurisdiction of all lower federal courts, based on powers granted to Congress in Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution. On July 22, the House voted to limit federal court jurisdiction over questions under the Defense of Marriage Act. AHEAD OF THE CURVE: The same AP wire service story quoted above also noted that "the legislation [pertaining to the Pledge of Allegiance] has little chance of advancing in the Senate this year." The same could be said regarding the measure pertaining to the Defense of Marriage Act. Nevertheless, these votes are still highly significant, in that they demonstrate that most House members are now willing to exercise an important congressional power that they had either forgotten or ignored for many years. For decades, however, THE NEW AMERICAN has not only kept this important congressional power in front of our readers, but has repeatedly recommended its use for curbing federal court usurpations on issues ranging from abortion to the Pledge of Allegiance. For instance, in the April 1976 issue of American Opinion (a predecessor to THE NEW AMERICAN), Congressman Larry McDonald Lawrence Patton McDonald (April 1 1935 – September 1 1983) was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the seventh congressional district of Georgia. McDonald was killed in the shoot-down of Korean Air Flight 007. recommended his measure to stop forced busing of schoolchildren schoolchildren school npl → écoliers mpl; (at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school by limiting federal court jurisdiction. More recent articles include "Congress Can Curb the Courts" in our January 29, 1990 issue and "Time to End Judicial Tyranny In common law Judicial tyranny is a common law felony with a substantial prison sentence and fine. It is a subset of obstruction of justice. Judicial tyranny is malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance by a judge, and includes actions under color of law that exceed his jurisdiction, " in our January 12, 2004 issue. Until recently, this congressional power appeared to be one of the best-kept secrets in Washington, but that's obviously changing. (For additional information about the September 23 vote, see page 44.) |
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