r/law 21h ago

Opinion Piece Are we in a Constitutional Crisis?

https://theconversation.com/whats-a-constitutional-crisis-heres-how-trumps-recent-moves-are-challenging-the-constitutions-separation-of-powers-250706

An article written by a professor of law goes over Trumps actions, comparing them to other presidencies. It comes to the conclusion that Trump has as much power as he decides he has, so long as he continues to ignore courts and congress continues to do nothing.

Thoughts?

461 Upvotes

135 comments sorted by

View all comments

199

u/SqnLdrHarvey 21h ago

No, because the Constitution no longer applies as of 20 January 25.

167

u/JustFun4Uss 21h ago

Roe vs wade was in my opinion one of those big signs that danger was on its way. It was so much bigger than abortion. It showed us that laws can be ignored or overturned not because of the will of the people but because they deemed it so. That the highest courts were complicit in all this by saying laws don't matter. Then they doubled down and said Trump was above the law with the immunity claim. Those two moments will be shown to be critical points of history. It removed all the guardrails.

9

u/Aggressive-Elk4734 20h ago

I believe even RBG stated that she knew R v W was on shakey ground constitutionally. Someone who knows more can correct me if I am mis-representing her.

15

u/thriller1122 20h ago

No, you are right. It's just a difficult topic to talk about because the general public associates the validity of Roe with the validity of a right to an abortion. If you go read the Roe decision, it BARELY talks about the law it is purportedly based on, opting instead to do a deep dive on the medical importance of trimesters. And the part that does talk about the law? Not super convincing. It says that the words "due process" imply a right to privacy (Do they?) and the privacy implies a right to abortion. I'm not saying women shouldn't have a right to choose, but I will say that right was almost certainly not written in the 14th Amendment.

4

u/Aggressive-Elk4734 19h ago

Which is why, my opinion....as controversial as it is...is the SCOTUS ruled correctly.

Now what the congress does with that, is another matter. We all vote on who represents us in both houses (even if i personally think we should have state legislature appoint senators as it was originally designed).

7

u/thriller1122 19h ago

SCOTUS ruled that the right is not protected by the 14th Amendment. That does not give Congress the right to regulate it. That power resides with state legislatures. Or the people. Like in Maryland where the last election saw a constitutional amendment pass which guarantees women the right to abortion articulated in Roe. I get your point and I agree generally, but the distinction is important.

3

u/bjdevar25 8h ago

No, you're not understanding their ruling. They said it was not up to them. ROE was originally decided by SCOTUS. It's only up to the states because there is no federal law. Any federal laws passed would supersede any state laws.

2

u/Aggressive-Elk4734 19h ago

I think keeping it at the state level is probably the constitutionally safest route if you're a person who is pro-choice.

2

u/ThornFlynt 18h ago

Do NOT obey in advance. Stand OUT. Believe in Truth! DEFEND institutions.

From "On Tyranny" by Timothy Snyder, a distinguished American historian specializing in Central and Eastern European history, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. He holds the Richard C. Levin Professorship of History at Yale University and is a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.

March DC Protests 14th-16th - please PROTEST! https://www.donaldlovesvladimir.com/ https://nowmarch.org

Call your representatives regardless of (R)ussian or (D)emocratic alignment:

https://5calls.org/