The Constitution Restoration Act Of 2004: The Most Important
Legislation In The Last Fifty Years

By Chuck Baldwin

February 17, 2004

Last week, a bill was introduced in both chambers of Congress to
"limit the jurisdiction of Federal courts in certain cases and
promote federalism." The House version is H.R. 3799, and the
Senate version is S. 2082. The bill is titled, "The Constitution
Restoration Act of 2004." Initial sponsors of the bill include Rep.
Robert Aderholt (AL), Rep. Michael Pence (IN), Sen. Richard
Shelby (AL), Sen. Zell Miller (GA), Sen. Sam Brownback (KS),
and Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC). Even though the introduction of
this bill received little national media attention, it is the most
important legislation in the last fifty years.

I was privileged to be in attendance at the press conference in
Prattville, Alabama when former Alabama Supreme Court Chief
Justice Roy Moore, Rep. Aderholt, Sen. Shelby, Sen. Brownback,
and Ambassador Alan Keyes formally announced the introduction
of this bill to the media. Also in attendance were conservative
luminaries such as Phyllis Schlafly and Howard Phillips. The bill
was drafted by a star-studded legal team including Chief Justice
Moore's lead counsel, Herb Titus.

The passage of H.R. 3799 and S. 2082 should be regarded as the
most important item on the conservative agenda this year! It is no
hyperbole to say that the passage of this bill is significantly more
important than who wins the White House this November. Yes, I
really mean that.

You see, what difference does it make who wins a presidential or
congressional election if neither party will faithfully discharge
their duty to the U.S. Constitution? We have seen Republican and
Democratic presidents come and go. The same goes for
congressmen and senators. Yet, government continues to get
bigger and bigger, while freedom gets smaller and smaller. Neither
has either major party done anything to reverse the trend toward
socialism and globalism.

One of the major reasons for this unfortunate set of circumstances
is an out-of-control federal judiciary. For the last fifty years,
federal courts have run roughshod over the Constitution. For all
practical purposes, America is now controlled by a tyrannical
oligarchy of federal judges.

Thankfully, our Founding Fathers understood this potentiality and
prescribed a way for Congress to deal with the matter. Under
Article III, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the
power and authority to regulate and except appellate jurisdiction of
the federal judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court. That is
exactly what H.R. 3799 and S. 2082 do.

Accordingly, under Sec. 102 of this bill, "Notwithstanding any
other provision of this chapter, the Supreme Court shall not have
jurisdiction to review, by appeal, writ of certiorari, or otherwise,
any matter to the extent that relief is sought against an element of
Federal, State, or local government, or against an officer of
Federal, State, or local government (whether or not acting in
official personal capacity), by reason of that element's or officer's
acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or
government."

This means, that the federal judiciary would be prohibited from
interfering with any _expression of religious faith by any elected
local, state, or federal official. In other words, federal judges could
not prevent the Ten Commandments from being displayed in
public buildings or Nativity Scenes from appearing on court house
lawns or "under God" from being recited in the Pledge of
Allegiance or prayers being spoken in public schools, etc. This bill
would limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts in these matters.

Furthermore, Sec. 201 of this bill states, "In interpreting and
applying the Constitution of the United States, a court of the
United States may not rely upon any constitution, law,
administrative rule, Executive order, directive, policy, judicial
decision, or any other action of any foreign state or international
organization or agency, other than the constitutional law and
English common law."

In other words, the Supreme Court would be prohibited from
basing their opinions on the rule of foreign law. This is especially
needful as Supreme Court justices such as Sandra Day O'Connor
and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have demonstrated a recent propensity to
do just that.

As you can see, this bill is needed in the worst way! And the
encouraging thing is, it really does have a better than average
chance of passing. In fact, at the press conference in Prattville,
Sen. Shelby predicted the bill would pass the U.S. Senate. Rep.
Aderholt feels confident it will pass the House as well.

Please contact your congressman and senators (and the White
House) and tell them that your support for their reelections is
dependent upon their support for this bill! There is nothing more
important in politics this year than passing this bill into law! Not
even the vote for President is more important. The federal judiciary
must be reigned in! It must be "bound down by the chains of the
Constitution" (Jefferson). Passage of "The Constitution
Restoration Act of 2004" will begin this process. I wholeheartedly
and enthusiastically support this bill. I hope you will, too.

© Chuck Baldwin

NOTE TO THE READER:

Chuck Baldwin's commentaries are copyrighted and may be
republished, reposted, or emailed providing the person or
organization doing so does not charge for subscriptions or
advertising and that the column is copied intact and that full credit
is given and that Chuck's web site address is included.

Editors or Publishers of publications charging for subscriptions or
advertising who want to run these columns must contact Chuck
Baldwin for permission. Radio or television Talk Show Hosts
interested in scheduling an interview with Chuck should contact
chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com.

Please visit Chuck's web site at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com.
When responding, please include your name, city and state.