The Constitutional term judicial good Behavior equals original intent. In my opinion, many Appellate Court and Supreme Court decisions would not be consistent with our nation’s Founders vision of judicial “good behavior.” Consequently, it is critical to ascertain the origin and meaning of the phrase judicial “good Behavior.” To progressives, judicial “good Behavior is activist court decisions that make law when the legislative process cannot, like R v Wade. To conservatives, judicial “good Behavior is judicial decisions based on the “original intent” of the Constitution and the plain meaning of the text of enacted laws. To put this in personal terms, the difference between these two perspectives on judicial “good Behavior” is the differences in the written opinions of Justice Ginsberg and Justice Scalia.
According to Article III, Section 1, the Constitutional term judicial good Behavior equals original intent in relation to term of service. The article states, The Judges shall hold their Offices during ˜good Behavior’.” Good Behavior is not used to describe either the qualifications or term of service for members of Legislative or Executive branches of the national government in Articles I and II of the Constitution, respectively. Unfortunately, the Constitution ds not define good Behavior.
The Federalist Papers, written to support ratification of the Constitution, provide the best available insight into the constitutional Framer’s meaning of good Behavior. In The Federalist No. 78 Alexander Hamilton wrote,
Judges hold their offices during ‘good behavior,’ which is the best expedient to secure a steady, upright and impartial administration of the laws.
The duty (of courts of justice) must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the constitution,’ void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing.
Every act of a delegated authority (including decisions of the judiciary), contrary to the tenor of the commission (Constitution) under which it is exercised, is void.
Consequently, good Behavior, described in Article III, Section 1, is court decisions that reflect the manifest tenor of the constitution. Manifest tenor is the original intent based on the constitutional text, grammar, textural construction, and the words as defined when the Constitution and Amendments were ratified by We the People. Manifest tenor also refers to the principle train of thought or idea that runs through each article and section of the Constitution.
Hamilton also discouraged judicial activism which seeks to infer original intent regarding the Constitution or laws that extends beyond the actual text and grammatical construction of the documents. In The Federalist No. 81, he wrote,
There is not one syllable in the plan under consideration (Constitution), which directly empowers the national courts to construe the laws according to the spirit of the constitution.
Hamilton went on to write that court rulings that go beyond the manifest tenor of the Constitution would constitute “a series of deliberate usurpations on the authority of the legislature. Finally, Hamilton suggested that rulings outside the manifest tenor of the Constitution should lead to the important constitutional check the power of instituting impeachments, upon the members of the judicial department. Throughout the Constitutional history of the United States of America the legislative branch has failed to use the power of impeachment to control judges who do not base their opinions on the manifest tenor of the Constitution. Consequently, the Judicial Branch of our national government is an unchecked oligarchy, a flaw in our system, since the Constitution ds not specify any meaningful checks on the decisions of the Federal judiciary.
Additionally, disrespectful judicial rulings that usurp the will of We the People occur when jurists proport an ability to construe the laws according to the spirit of the constitution or craft opinions that are not based on the textural original intent, the manifest tenor of the Constitution and its Amendments. After all, We the People ratified the manifest tenor of each part of the Constitution and its Amendments. Each of the 535 members of the US Congress and the President were elected by We the People. It is the US Congress which passes legislation that becomes law when signed by the President. Consequently, State and Federal laws, and Inferior US Court opinions consistent with the manifest tenor of the Constitution, must be upheld by our courts because they reflect the collective will of We the People. The same is true of Presidential Executive Orders that are consistent with the manifest tenor of the Constitution.
Conversely, The duty (of courts of justice) must be to declare all acts contrary to the ˜manifest tenor of the constitution,’ void. When judicial rulings are not based on the manifest tenor of the Constitution, the offending jurist places their opinion above the collective wisdom of all We the People. This is true whether the opinion is that of an individual judge, a panel of judges, or a nine Justice US Supreme Court ruling, Judicial rulings that give the standing of law to progressive social policies remove the political initiative from We the People giving it to the government agencies or private entities, like Planned Parenthood, adding to Democrat power. When the elected representatives of We the People make laws about social issues, as Conservatives and the Republican Party prefer, power originates with We the People.
In accordance with Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, President Trump has nominated Supreme Court Justices and US Inferior Court Judges that will make decisions based on originalist concepts that include manifest tenor and reject attempts to “construe the laws according to the spirit of the constitution. The Republican Senate has fulfilled its Article II Advice and Consent obligations and confirmed President Trump’s Judicial nominations. Consequently, progressive changes to our society should be decided through the legislative process where We the People, through our elected legislators, will determine what is best for We the People. An unelected Judiciary will no longer rule against the will of We the People. The Democrat Party will lose power; and, through his Judiciary nominations, President Trump and the Republican Senate returned power to We the People.
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