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Originally Posted by MS Fowler
...The supremes can use anything they choose as precedent--US law, foreign law, even what is politically expedient. Not good for a law-abiding country...
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That is almost true. If the Supreme Court decided to go off on its own, ignoring the text of the Constitution and the case law, then we would have a real problem. For the most part, that hasn't happened over the 220 years the Constitution has been in effect. Why do you think it will now?
The recent criticism of certain justices' reference to foreign law is misplaced. The Court has never applied foreign law. It applies US law. Difficulty sometimes arises in figuring out what US law is. In those cases the justices look to various sources, including foreign law, as persuasive authority. There is nothing inappropriate or lawless about it.
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...Amendment is the procedure proivided for evolving--I'm OK with that--but apart from that, the document is meaningless.
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I couldn't disagree more. Our Constitution is ingenious. It works very well.