CRJS400 discussion week one

CRJS400-DB1

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CRJS400-DB1

While the three branches of government were created to ensure no one branch of government had ultimate power and to ensure the government never becomes oppressive. Despite that each branch is suppose to check the actions of the other in fact the judicial branch has the final say even over the President. There is a need to achieve a greater balance of power among the three branches of the federal government and ensure less encroachment from one branch to another. In order for this to occur the powers of Congress should be returned to ensure that the judicial branch does not become all powerful. If the judicial branch can veto the decision of both the President and Congress then the judicial branch has the greatest amount of power.

In order to ensure the three branches retain an equal share of governmental power the people should be given more power over the decision making process (Napolitano, 2012). In other words if a majority of society does not agree with the final decision of the Supreme Court then the people should have the right to override the decision. For example the Affordable Care Act was opposed by a large majority of the public and a majority of the states in the country. Despite this major opposition the Supreme Court still rejected the lawsuit from the states even though in past rulings the court has based their decision on the majority opinion in society.

While the Health Care plan is a good thing the Supreme Court having this much power is concerning. Achieving greater balance of power among the three branches of the federal government is ensuring that the president cannot limit the power of Congress and that the judicial branch does not have final say over all legislation created in the nation. The constitution clearly outlines the rights of Congress and these powers should never be restricted and vice versa. The people should always have the final say.

References

Napolitano, A. (2012). All Three Branches of Government Are Acting Above the Law: What do

we do about it? Retrieved May 1 2013 from

http://reason.com/archives/2012/07/19/all-three-branches-of-government-are-act