Are Courts Too Powerful?

Those who think the courts have seized too much power in American government have a soul mate in James A. Nelson of Spokane.

“I have always felt that U.S. Supreme Court justices should not be appointed for life,” says Nelson. “This position has become a political plum and the people are not well served in some cases. Such massive power should not be based on one president’s decision. Plus the selection process has become so frightening many excellent nominees don’t even want to be considered.”

Nelson was responding to last week’s comments in “Bagpipes” about House Bill 2060, a proposal in the Washington Legislature. HB2060 would give lawmakers a way to reaffirm, by majority vote, any state statute that an appellate court had overturned.

“Because our lawmakers in almost all instances are lawyers and accountable to the citizens, House Bill 2060 could be feasible; certainly it bears close scrutiny,” said Nelson.

Actually, few members of the Washington Legislature are lawyers, and lawyers comprise less than half of Congress.

Leftovers

Readers’ comments that didn’t make it into recent “Bagpipes” columns:

“Grass growing and the production of grass seed is the most environmentally sound agriculture practice when compared to all other cropping and farming practices,” wrote Jack Morris, president of Heart Seed Co., in Fairfield.

“Grass stops erosion. Grass builds soil. Grass filters water and runoff. Grass provides habitat for wild animals. Grass fields produce oxygen. Grass is a perennial crop.”

“A true environmentalist, he said, “would look at the whole picture before condemning one practice that is necessary in maintaining the best soil-protecting and soil-building crop that can be grown,” Morris said.

On the safety standards required of old apartment buildings, Jim Shamp of Cheney wrote:

“All of my units have smoke alarms. Most have more than required. In most cases, when a tenant who smokes vacates the apartment the smoke alarm battery has been removed. In a couple of cases, they have disconnected the alarms that were wired into the building’s electrical system.

“Older buildings are obviously less safe than new buildings. The biggest problem, however, is human misconduct.”

, DataTimes MEMO: “Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond, call Cityline at 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone; or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to dougf@spokesman.com. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.