Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other. The divine law, as discovered by reason and the moral sense, forms an essential part of both.
- James Wilson

This weekend, the National Coalition to Restore the Constitution and numerous co-sponsors, including Missouri First, organized a "Faith and Freedom" rally in Jefferson City. This event was held in state capitols across the country to protest recent unconstitutional intrusions upon religious liberty by the judiciary and the rapidly growing power of the judicial branch of government. The focal point of this issue recently has been the case of Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court, but he is not the sole victim of rampant, illegal judicial tyranny in this country.

What has become increasingly apparent in recent months is that the judicial branch of the federal government is the single most powerful government entity that exists today. Far from being the legal advisors to the other two branches that the founding fathers envisioned, they have become black-robed tyrants, dispensing their opinions and personal beliefs as law backed by the police powers of the State. In case after case, judges at the federal and state levels are contravening the will of the people, completing ignoring the fact that governments derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed."

There are several constitutional solutions to the problem of judicial tyranny, and it is time for Congress to act. According to Article III of the Constitution, Congress is given the authority to establish all courts inferior to the supreme Court [note: in the text of the Constitution, "supreme" is not capitalized]. Legislation introduced this year is intended to limit the federal courts' jurisdiction over matters of religion, but many people are skeptical that such laws will withstand review by the supreme Court, so that seems like a weak approach.

The Constitution also provides for the impeachment of judges that do not exhibit "good behaviour," with the interpretation of that expression left to the Congress. Many believe that a judge must be found guilty of some federal crime to be impeached, but the Constitution requires no such standard. A reading of history provides a strong justification for the impeachment of judges who show disdain for the will of the people and refuse to allow them to enact laws consistent with their values. Impeachment is the Constitutional tool by which the people, through the legislature, can check the power of the judiciary.

Whether a tyrant wears a crown or a black robe, his power over the people is absolute and oppressive. Perhaps today, you may not feel oppressed. Perhaps today, you may feel no need to exercise a liberty that is being stripped away. But rest assured, if history is any teacher, that corrupt, self-serving tyrants will continue to chip away the bedrock of liberty upon which this nation was founded until we are indistinguishable from every other nation that has become enslaved to the absolute will of a few. The people of this country still have an opportunity to stem the tide of tyranny and regain control, but only if they demand that their legislators act boldly and decisively in carrying out their Constitutional duty.