Michael P. Farris, Esq.
Chairman &
General Counsel

Are Fedral Judges Overstepping Their Constitutional Bounds

Volume 51, Program 5 3/5/2004

Please note: This interview was recorded a number of weeks ago. The discussion of the need for a constitutional amendment defining marriage was general and should not be understood to contain any special endorsement of specific language. To learn participants' positions on particular language, Home School Heartbeat listeners are encouraged to visit HSLDA's federal news page at nche.hslda.org and Focus on the Family's website at www.family.org.

Are federal judges overstepping their constitutional bounds? Join Michael Farris and Dr. James Dobson as they discuss current court actions on today's Home School Heartbeat.

Mike Farris:
Jim, I know you share my belief that judicial activism is very dangerous for our nation. What's the scope of this problem, and what should we do about it?

Dr. James Dobson:
It cannot be overstated, Mike. If we go back and read the writings of the framers of the Constitution, it becomes very clear that they feared the tendency of man to grab power and to subvert the tenets of democracy. And that's why they set up a system of checks and balances: to keep one branch of the federal government from overpowering and dominating the other two. That system has worked very well between the legislative and the executive branches. But the judiciary has not been checked by the Congress in the way that the Constitution prescribed. Therefore the courts are totally out of control. You know, the courts now make every important moral decision, and they interfere with more and more of our private lives. These black-robed judges are unelected and unaccountable and arrogant and we must curtail their power. Passage of the federal marriage amendment is an excellent place to start.

Mike:
Jim, you're absolutely right about judicial tyranny and the need for the federal marriage amendment. And thanks so much for all that you do for the family. I'm Mike Farris.