On the Heels of Senate Confirmation, Timing Couldn't be More Appropriate
Feeney: "On the Heels of Senate Confirmation, Timing Couldn't be more Appropriate"
Markup of Resolution on Supreme Court Use of International Law
(Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) issued the following statement on the markup of the Feeney/Goodlatte Resolution (H Res. 97):
"With today's Senate confirmation of John Roberts as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and as the President prepares to name Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement, the timing of this national civics debate couldn't be more appropriate. How justices choose to interpret the Constitution and its original intent should be central to this discussion.
"During his confirmation hearing, John Roberts said it best when characterizing the cherry-picking of foreign law to interpret the United States Constitution as 'a misuse of precedent.'
"Article VI of the U.S. Constitution clearly provides in the Supremacy Clause, This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; And all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the Supreme Law of the Land.'
"The U.S. Constitution exemplifies our nation's independence from foreign law and precedent. The Supreme Court's increasing tendency to reference foreign law rather than the original intent of the Constitution jeopardizes the sovereignty of our nation. The American people have not authorized through Congress or through a constitutional amendment the use of foreign laws to establish new law or deny rights here in the United States."
The Feeney/Goodlatte Resolution (H. Res. 97) currently has 67 co-sponsors including the House Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Chabot and 14 other Members of the House Judiciary Committee. With increasing frequency the Supreme Court looks to constitutions, law, and trends of foreign countries when examining cases. To date at least six Justices have cited foreign law in written opinions. The resolution states:
"Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that judicial determinations regarding the meaning of the Constitution of the United States should not be based on judgments, laws, or pronouncements of foreign institutions unless such foreign judgments, laws, or pronouncements inform an understanding of the original meaning of the Constitution of the United States."
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/fl24_feeney/IntLawResMarkup.html