Lisa Wiehl on O'Reilly says founding fathers expected co-equal branches

In a discussion over Newt's comments about Congress setting the judges straight, even sending the federal marshall to detain judges acting in bad behavior, Lisa Wiehl on O'Reilly last night said that the Congress could not do that. She claimed it interfered with the concept of separation of powers, and that the founding fathers expected the three branches to be co-equal branches - disagreeing with Gingrich's notion that the judicial branch was supposed to be the weakest of the three branches.

She's a lawyer, of course she thinks that. The thing is, Wiehl is dead wrong.

If you consult Madison's notes on the debates of the Constitutional Convention you learn that the Founding Fathers actually considered not even creating a judicial branch. They were concerned over the possibility of an activist judiciary. However, as a last thought, they went ahead and created the branch, but limited it to the point that it was to be the weakest of the three branches, and they gave Congress considerable power over the judicial branch to keep it under control.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Madison's Notes on the Debates of the Constitutional Convention - Avalon Project, Yale University

Myth #1: America has three co-equal branches of government. - Political Pistachio

Myth #4: The Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, and can decide if a law is constitutional or not. - Political Pistachio


Myth #14: The courts are the check against Congress. - Political Pistachio