The Power of the Courts

Most people will have heard the news by now. California has legalized same sex marriages. Well, no law was passed explicitly stating that gay marriages were now legal; the California Supreme Court, in a 4-3 vote, simply ruled in favor of same-sex unions. Which basically amounts to the same thing.

What everyone should realize here is that the courts, which ideally should simply be the interpreters of the law, actually have the power to "create" law by the decisions they pass. And the California Supreme Court ruling is one such example, as hundreds of gay couples rejoiced in the streets when the decision came out. So now gay couples are allowed to legitimize their union, thanks to the Court's ruling.

Of course, this is not the first instance wherein a court's decision became law; neither is this the first instance wherein a US state legalized gay marriage (the state of Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriages in 2004). But the California Supreme Court's decision last Thursday puts the Golden State on the road to becoming the second state to do so.

Well of course this decision has sparked controversies on both sides, with the conservatives pushing to spend more than $10 million on the campaign to overturn this decision. This is how the law works: the state legislature passes a bill, which becomes law; the state Supreme Court, through a decision, can overturn the law, thus effecting a new law. And the only thing that can overturn the court's decision is a constitutional amendment, which the conservative California residents plan to undertake in November.

Few people realize the power of the courts in effecting social change. In fact, the courts seem to be the only branch of government that thinks out of the box, and the backward-loving legislators are actually balanced out by the forward-thinking jurists. But most of the time, the backward folk are more stubborn than the progressive ones, and they will do anything in their power to let the status quo remain as it is.

But again, I would like to commend the California Supreme Court decision, as one small step in the evolution of the human race. Times are changing, society is changing, and everything should change along with it. And legalizing gay marriages is a step in the right direction.

The only question is: when will they do the same for marijuana?

On the Writ of Amparo

All hail the Chief.

Two days ago (the twenty-fourth which was also my brother's birthday) was the first day of the promulgation of the writ of amparo. This is the latest move by the Supreme Court to drastically lessen, if not totally eradicate, the extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the military.

People thought there was no solution to this nagging problem. The ones who were abducted, and the bodies that were recovered, were said to belong to suspected communists, or to communists sympathizers. And since the government keeps reiterating that we are at war with the communists, then these deaths will simply be shrugged off as casualties of war.

And what if the writ of habeas corpus is not a sufficient remedy for the speedy administration of justice? Simple---we import a remedy from Latin America, which we call the writ of amparo.

The writ of amparo is definitely a more appropriate remedy for all these disappearances. Consider this: no docket fees. This certainly goes in favor of the poor farmers and peasants. Plus the writ may be filed twenty-four-seven, and may be executed even a judge's or Justice's handwriting. This is justice without the financial constraints.

There is no doubt about it. Chief Justice Puno will go down in history, as one of the most revolutionary figures in modern times. That's the truth, as even Joma Sison says that the only way he can return home to the Philippines is when Chief Justice Puno becomes president.