Reflection Paper
GOVT 327: State and Local Government
December 9, 2019
The Structure of State Legislatures and Roles They Have in State Government
Lock’s view of the roles in state government clearly state it is imperative to have legislation in
order to preserve a society. The first and fundamental positive law of all commonwealths is the
establishing of the legislative power, its purpose is to preserve the society and the people in it.1 In
establishment of legislative power the goal is to govern itself and the people which means the
people are subject to submission of its authority. When talking about the idea of dispersing
power, the bible frequently speaks against power and talks about making sure that there is no one
entity.2 Essentially, Locke believes that there must be a legislative power so that it can
authoritatively interpret natural law due to the fact that disagreement is in human nature.3 Locke
believes that no one man should take all the power which falls in line with the Bible’s statement
that there should be multiple different assets in power.
The reapportionment process
The reapportionment process functions to maintain equal representation in relation to
population. There are 7,383 state legislators in this country: 1,972 senators and 5,411
representatives. As of 2015, Democrats held 43 percent of the seats, Republicans held 56
percent; men outnumbered women 75.7 to 24.3 percent.4 State legislators are reapportioned
based on the state population; the state gets more representatives if they have more people and
vice versa. Locke provides an example of what happens when men are outnumbered to the
population and explains how it does not work out well which suggests that there should be a
proportionate number of legislators to match the population.5 Solomon had twelve district
governors over Israel which suggests that the Bible supports the reapportionment process
1 Second Treatise sec. 134
2 Presentation: The Biblical Authority for Federalism
3 Locke and the Legislative, Chap 5
4 Ann Bowman and Richard Kearney, State and Local Government, 6-2a
5 Second Treatise sec. 137
because there were multiple governors to ensure that all of Israel was able to be equally
maintained under power.6
The structures of state court systems, their selections, and decision making
The structure of state courts is based on lawyers, judges, and court staff. Locke’s opinion
on the state court system and decision making is that the law of nature is put into every man’s
hands and has the right to punish those who violate it.7 The Bible also affirms the punishment of
those who disobey the Commandments set before them. For example, if anyone kills a person,
the murder should be put to death.8 The decision making of state court systems falls under the
selected judges. Selection of these judges is rigorous as impartiality is rare to find.
The concept of Judicial Federalism
The concept of Judicial Federalism refers to the separation between state and federal
judicial authority. The Constitution of the United States gives the federal courts
exclusive jurisdiction over matters of federal law but vests state and federal courts with
concurrent jurisdiction over most issues of federal law, with federal courts having the ultimate
say in the meaning and application of federal law.9 Locke’s point of view on the break down of
judicial federalism is that the society has discretion on how to manage litigations between man
and law which means Judicial Federalism is an acceptable form if the society sees it is fit.10
Essentially, Judicial Federalism is vital in order to separate matters of federal and state to keep
the integrity of the Federalism structure intact.
Bibliography
Bowman, Ann and Richard Kearney. State and Local Government. 2-2b. Cengage Learning,
2018.
6 1 Kings 4:7 NIV
7 Second Treatise sec. 7
8 Num. 35:30 NIV
9 Judicial Federalism
10 Second Treatise sec. 138
The Biblical Authority for Federalism. GOVT 327, Liberty University.
Judicial Federalism/ American Governance. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Macmillan Reference
USA, 2016.
Locke, John and C. B. Macpherson. Second Treatise of Government. Indianapolis, Ind: Hackett
Pub. Co, 1980.
Tuckness, Alex. Locke and the Legislative Point of View: Toleration, Contested Principles, and
the Law. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
