What is going on in Allen County's courts?
This week we got news that a state panel cited Judge Kenneth R. Scheibenberger for official misconduct. Apparently, back in November, he put on his robe and walked into another judge's courtroom (misstep number one). Then he listened to an alleged drug dealer get sentenced by the other judge. He then threw a bit of a fit and started swearing the the family of the defendant (misstep number two). He claims that the drug dealer sold his son drugs that resulted in his son's death.
Well, today's News-Sentinel reports that the Circuit Court judge in Fort Wayne, Judge Thomas J. Felts, was operating his vehicle while drunk, and let it "coast backward" into a police cruiser in Indianapolis. He was pulled over near Monument Circle, and instead of putting the vehicle into park, he put it in reverse. This is his re-election year, but is running unopposed.
I have to wonder what the voters in Allen County think about all this. Fort Wayne is one of the busiest court systems in Indiana, and they really can't afford to lose their Circuit judge and one of their Superior judges.
Further, what were these judges thinking? Scheibenberger couldn't have thought anything good would come of going to this sentencing in his robe. In doing so he tarnished the reputation of judges everywhere. To swear up a storm while in your robe just looks bad all around.
I'm glad I work for a Judge this summer. I'm also glad it's not in Allen County, which has to be in chaos right now.
7.19.2008
7.11.2008
More on: The Real Reason for Number Two
Kyle Michael at KMitB was kind enough to post a response to my previous post praising the Heller decision. Always in the mood for a good discussion, I want to respond to his response.
Michael writes:
You may have noticed that you don’t see many good militias these days; I suspect they’re hard to get together. Blair sticks to his guns (so to speak) here, maintaining that this is still a relevant purpose. That’s fine, if silly, but it fails to account for the use of guns for other purposes. Where does hunting fit in? Or, for that matter, why should you be allowed to use a gun to defend yourself against any threat other than an “oppressive government” or an invasion? The 2nd Amendment doesn’t mention anything about any of this; you’d think Scalia would have a problem with that.
I should first point out that I don't believe that the Second Amendment exists solely for the purpose of protection from an oppressive government. While that may be its most important purpose, there are certainly others - anything from self-defense to sport hunting. The language of the Amendment doesn't even mention invasion or self-defense.
Presumably, Michael is making the ill-fated grammar-based interpretation of the Second Amendment, that suggests that the preamble of the Amendment (i.e. "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a Free state,") means that it applies only to organized militias and the security of the state. George Mason law professor Nelson Lund destroyed this position in his amicus brief in Heller. One need only examine other documents from the same time period to know that writing preambles was the fad, and that those preambles are not all-inclusive.
For example, one can look at Article 3 of the Northwest Ordinance ("Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged"). I doubt many people will argue that the only reason we encourage schools in this nation is because education makes for good government and happiness, or that religion, morality, and knowledge are their only purpose. Sure, those are pretty good reasons, but they are not the only reasons.
Michael continues:
Like Blair, Scalia combines the 2nd Amendment with a common law right to self defense. In doing so, and in endorsing the dipshit view that keeping handguns in the home for self-defense is a good idea, Scalia writes (and I swear I am not making this up): "[a handgun] can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police."
The Cato Institute's amicus brief in Heller discusses the English roots of the right to bear arms, which does cover the fact that the common law right to bear arms is derived from, and must be understood with, the common law right to self-defense. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 supports it, as does Blackstone and a variety of other English sources. Whether it is a "good idea" is a separate matter. Michael falls back on tired rhetoric to argue that kids will find the gun and do harm with it. Even if you take that position and do intelligent things, like putting the gun away and teaching kids about gun responsibilities from a young age, the point is irrelevant. The Second Amendment doesn't cover stupid parents; it covers a right that cannot be taken away from an individual.
I do, however, agree with Michael about one point. Justice Scalia's reliance on the notion that I will call the police while holding a gun is a poor choice in his opinion. I will shoot first with both hands (as you're taught to do in firing ranges), then call the police with both hands.
Michael writes:
You may have noticed that you don’t see many good militias these days; I suspect they’re hard to get together. Blair sticks to his guns (so to speak) here, maintaining that this is still a relevant purpose. That’s fine, if silly, but it fails to account for the use of guns for other purposes. Where does hunting fit in? Or, for that matter, why should you be allowed to use a gun to defend yourself against any threat other than an “oppressive government” or an invasion? The 2nd Amendment doesn’t mention anything about any of this; you’d think Scalia would have a problem with that.
I should first point out that I don't believe that the Second Amendment exists solely for the purpose of protection from an oppressive government. While that may be its most important purpose, there are certainly others - anything from self-defense to sport hunting. The language of the Amendment doesn't even mention invasion or self-defense.
Presumably, Michael is making the ill-fated grammar-based interpretation of the Second Amendment, that suggests that the preamble of the Amendment (i.e. "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a Free state,") means that it applies only to organized militias and the security of the state. George Mason law professor Nelson Lund destroyed this position in his amicus brief in Heller. One need only examine other documents from the same time period to know that writing preambles was the fad, and that those preambles are not all-inclusive.
For example, one can look at Article 3 of the Northwest Ordinance ("Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged"). I doubt many people will argue that the only reason we encourage schools in this nation is because education makes for good government and happiness, or that religion, morality, and knowledge are their only purpose. Sure, those are pretty good reasons, but they are not the only reasons.
Michael continues:
Like Blair, Scalia combines the 2nd Amendment with a common law right to self defense. In doing so, and in endorsing the dipshit view that keeping handguns in the home for self-defense is a good idea, Scalia writes (and I swear I am not making this up): "[a handgun] can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police."
The Cato Institute's amicus brief in Heller discusses the English roots of the right to bear arms, which does cover the fact that the common law right to bear arms is derived from, and must be understood with, the common law right to self-defense. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 supports it, as does Blackstone and a variety of other English sources. Whether it is a "good idea" is a separate matter. Michael falls back on tired rhetoric to argue that kids will find the gun and do harm with it. Even if you take that position and do intelligent things, like putting the gun away and teaching kids about gun responsibilities from a young age, the point is irrelevant. The Second Amendment doesn't cover stupid parents; it covers a right that cannot be taken away from an individual.
I do, however, agree with Michael about one point. Justice Scalia's reliance on the notion that I will call the police while holding a gun is a poor choice in his opinion. I will shoot first with both hands (as you're taught to do in firing ranges), then call the police with both hands.
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