COMMITTING CRIMES ONE BILL AT A TIME; FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO THE JAIL HOUSE, ENACTING RATIONAL LAWS IN AN IRRATIONAL WORLD

Lanessa L. owens, St. Thomas University

Abstract

Committing Crimes One Bill At Time; From The White House To The Jail House, Enacting Rational Laws In An Irrational World.

From Masters’ and Slaves’, to Gays’ and Straights’, you think they are different; I will convince you they are the same. I will demonstrate how legislatures have historically and continually abused their power to enact laws. Under the disguise of some governmental interest, legislatures continue to create, enact, and enforce bias laws. This article imports Criminal Procedure into Constitutional Law to create a proactive solution to the ongoing problem of law making. It is this author contention that the “rubber stamp” approval of bias based laws cause irreparable harm which cannot be remedied by the Supreme Court. Such a fundamental duty, such as enacting laws must be dealt with in a proactive form. Rather than the reactive society we have created.

Step 1: This article will demonstrate step by step how legislatures have historically enacted bias laws to further their own personal agendas. Although these laws have been overruled by the Supreme Court, the damage is irreparable, and the effects are lingering. I will demonstrate the lingering effects in a narrative poem written by myself.

Step 2: The Supreme Court set precedent in Loving v. Virginia and Palmore v. Sidoti that laws based on race will not be given legal effect despite the widely and deeply held beliefs of society. In both cases, the Supreme Court overruled the blatantly racist laws created, enacted, and enforced by legislatures, deeming them unconstitutional. I will demonstrate how legislatures have aggressively ignored the Supreme Court rulings and Constitutional law to continue to push forward their personal agendas.

Step 3: This author will suggest a possible solution to the overwhelming problem of legislatures enforcing their own political and traditional agendas. It is my intention to import Criminal Procedure into Constitutional law. The Legislatures should be required to apply the Terry v. Ohio test. The Terry test would simply require that the governmental interest be supported by specific and articulable facts, not merely hunches.

Step 4: Finally, I will demonstrate how the Terry test will end the malicious law making agenda by legislatures. I will apply the Terry test to DOMA to demonstrate how bias laws will no longer be allowed to avoid Constitutional law and Supreme Court case precedent.