Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Interstate Opinion

While in law school, I've noticed a very disturbing historical trend among the courts in Texas, and other states. It seems, oftentimes, when the courts in Texas issue an opinion regarding a case here in Texas, the courts will cite cases and laws from other states, such as Oklahoma, Idaho, California, and even (gasp!) New York.

I find this very disturbing. The states that these cases were held under do not operate under the Constitution of the Great State of Texas. The lawmakers who reached those determinations don't live here. They don't understand our way of thinking, or our value system. Why should our courts rely on what some blasted liberal in Massachussetts has to say about how to handle a case? We should be relying only on our own insight and knowledge, and should not even consider resorting to what other states have to say.

For this reason, I've decided to write my state representative and demand that he introduce a bill that would preclude any citation of out of state opinion in any decision that the Texas Supreme Court might make. These opinions are damaging to the interests of Texans, and can do no good whatsoever.
We'll still be able to utilize Federal Decisions, because we based our Constitution on the Federal Constitution, and our legal system is derived in the same manner.

Join me, and tell your state legislatures that enough is enough. We need to ensure we get what's coming to us!

1 comment:

Michelle said...

Steve, i don't understand what the gain would be by citing other States after a sentence has been handed down...just sounds a bits nuts to me.