Quote:
The problem most people have with Kennedy's use of foreign law is not that they think he's ignoring American precedent; they think he's depending on foreign law where there aren't clear American precedents. From a post by Michael Paulsen at balkin.blogspot.com:
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I couldn't care less what "most people's" problem with Kennedy is. -MY- problem with him (one of a great many) is his citation of irrelevant laws which do not originate in the US and which frequently run counter to the Constitution in deliberating upon Constitutional questions. The Courts in this country already disallow Constitutional defenses at trial; this sets precedent which could allow for a SCOTUS judge to cite, say, British victim-disarmament laws in a decision which effectively nullifies the 2nd Amendment, or German "hate-speech" statutes in a similar move against the 1st. Not only do they actively ignore the Constitution, this new practice of citing foreign law allows Kennedy and his ilk (or those who may follow) the opportunity to simply declare the Constitution irrelevant in light of "prevailing world opinion," to paraphrase Ginsberg in her first such decision.