As we are in the midst of the presidential debate and caucus season, we are hearing most of the candidates promising they will do this or that as though, if elected, they would be dictator rather than president of the United States. It’s as though they want us to forget that we are a republic with three branches of government.
Over the past 40 years the "Civics" class has disappeared from high school curricula and not for the better. In November 2009, actor Richard Dreyfuss said the following about civics education in a speech at the University of Virginia: "Everyone in the world knows that America is a miracle – except Americans, because we don’t teach it anymore … America is the greatest answer to a question that has been asked for 13,000 years. The question is, ‘How can people live together with some sense of mobility and freedom and intellectual freedom and opportunity?’ So far, we are the best answer by leagues."
For any of us over 50 years old there was a required high school class in "Civics" in which we learned about "separation of powers" and the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. A basic definition of separation of powers is the idea that a government functions best when its powers are not concentrated in a single authority but are instead divided among different branches. We learned these branches are separate and co-equal in our system of state and federal governments and that, simply put, the legislature makes laws, the executive branch enforces laws, and the judicial branch interprets laws. In practice it is certainly more complicated than that, but that was the foundation we were taught.
The Minnesota Constitution in Article III-VI defines the powers given to the three branches. Judges do not initiate lawsuits contesting actions by the Legislature or executive branch. There must be an underlying lawsuit initiated by an allegedly-wronged party.
For example, if a citizen’s property is wrongfully taken by an executive branch agency (state agency, county board, city council, police or sheriff), the wronged party serves and files in court a lawsuit which then comes before a judge and, possibly, a jury. If this "taking" is based on a law enacted by the legislature, the court will interpret the law for its constitutionality.
Each branch needs to do its job
Our three branches of Minnesota government are like a three-legged stool. If each does its job, the stool remains in balance. The founders created a system that both separated and blended powers so that each branch serves as a check and balance on the powers of the others. For example, the executive branch (governor) can veto legislation passed by the Legislature, and the judiciary can review the constitutionality of legislation if it is challenged in court. As citizens we should consider with a critical eye criticisms leveled by members of one branch of government against the other two branches. Many commenters were surprised that in a past State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama (chief executive) criticized the U.S. Supreme Court (judicial) for its decision on campaign financing and advertising (legislative action).
A while ago I read a comment by a print journalist in which reference was made to a judge’s "argument." This reference is inaccurate and reflects a general misunderstanding of the role of judges. Judges hear arguments of the parties’ attorneys in a lawsuit and render opinions applying the law. That is what judges are sworn to do. What judges do not do is "argue" their decision on the law.
History teaches us that if any branch of government becomes too powerful, imposing its will on the citizenry without regard for the rule of law, democracy is at risk. Each branch is equally necessary to "check" the others. In all systems, an independent judiciary is a crucial element in ensuring that the political branches (the executive and the legislative) do not exceed constitutional limits on their power.
I agree with Richard Dreyfuss: we need to teach "civics" so that our children realize America’s form of government is, indeed, a miracle.
Wright County District Court Judge Steve Halsey and other judges in the 10th District contribute occasional articles to this column. The district includes Wright County.