Law of land
explained in lecture on nuances of U.S. Constitution
BY
MIKE JONES AMERICAN PRESS
The Lake Charles League of Women Voters
marked the 85 th anniversary of the national organization, which now includes
men in the membership, with a discussion of the U.S. Constitution at its Friday
meeting.
Guest speaker Guy McLendon gave "A
Layman’s Overview" of the Constitution.
His
overview included readings from the Declaration of Independence, Constitution
and quotes from a number of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson.
He said the Constitution
was originally designed to keep the lid on "Big Government" by limiting the
powers of the federal government.
McLendon noted
that the powers of Congress are laid out in Article I, the president in Article
II and the judicial power in Article III.
He
said Article IV guarantees each state a "republican" form of government and
Article VI notes there will be "no religious test" to hold office. Article V
lays out the procedure for amending the Constitution.
McLendon said Marbury versus Madison, the
Supreme Court decision in 1803, established the principle of "judicial review" —
that the Supreme Court has the power to declare acts of Congress
unconstitutional. He said, in his opinion, that principle, judicial review, has
sometimes been abused by judges who want to "legislate from the bench."
He said there are two basic views of
interpretation of the Constitution, a "fixed view" and the "living tree view."
McLendon noted the fixed view generally holds
the Constitution should be strictly interpreted, while the living tree view is
that the Constitution should be malleable in the hands of contemporary
interpreters.
McLendon closed his talk with
Washington’s words from his farewell address: "The basis of our political
systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution which at any time
exists, ’till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole People is
sacredly obligatory upon all."
McLendon said he
believes that shows Washington had the "fixed view" of the Constitution.
For information about the Lake Charles League of
Women Voters, call Lollion Elmer at 439-3896, or go to the Web site,
www.lwv-lc.org.