This isn’t boring, really.

Stop Worrying About Trump Suspending the Constitution to Become a Dictator

It ain’t gonna happen on our watch

There are so many places to start with this, I am almost at a loss. There are Constitutional protections against this, an armed citizenry, a military sworn to uphold the Constitution, three equal parts of the government, and states’ rights, among so many other restrictions.

How about we start with the answer, you say? What, and risk you guys not reading all the way to the end? Hmmm? Okay. The answer is:

Anything is possible. But this is HIGHLY improbable. So, keep reading.

It’s like when people ask me, as a lawyer, can I sue that guy? My answer, sure. Anyone can sue any other person for any thing. Just file the pleadings. Doesn’t mean you’re gonna win, tho.

The Explanation

Let’s start with the System of Checks and Balances. A quick, very general reminder/lesson:

There are three branches of government: Executive(the President); Legislative(Congress, which is both the Senate and the House); and Judicial(the Supreme Court and every federal court below it).

Executive

The Executive Branch is made up of the president, vice president, cabinet members and most federal agencies like the Department of Justice. The DOJ controls most law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. The Executive Branch’s main duty is to enforce the laws written by the Legislative Branch. Unless you are William Barr.

Legislative

The Legislative Branch is supposed to make the laws and is made up of Congress, which is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is currently controlled by the Republicans, and is a bunch of worried little sycophants who are afraid of being sent home if they do not back Trump. However, the Senate is only half of Congress, and they cannot do much without the House, which is currently controlled by the Democrats, who are concerned about their own little fiefdoms.

Judiciary

Then there is the Judiciary. The Judicial Branch interprets and evaluates the laws made by the Legislative branch. When there is a dispute of a certain nature, the Supreme Court can hear the case after it has made its way through the federal court system. Under some circumstances, the issue has to go through the state system before it can enter the federal system.

System of Checks and Balances

Are you still with me? Okay, our system was designed that way by the Founders. These are the guys who wrote and ratified the original Constitution and the first 10 Amendments. It was designed that way so one branch doesn’t have too much power.

For instance, the President can veto legislation created by Congress. He can also appoint nominees to head federal agencies and fill judicial positions. According to Wikipedia, as of March 18, 2020, Trump has filled about 210 judicial positions.

Congress has the authority to confirm or reject the President’s nominees. Not much rejection is happening these days because most of the committees that review the President’s nominees are controlled by Republicans, as we have seen by a number of unqualified judges that have made it through committee and have been confirmed by the Republican controlled Senate.

Remember Brett “I like Beer” Kavanaugh, accused of sexual assault while in college? He still got confirmed and is now a Supreme Court Justice.

Oh, and don’t forget the department heads, Cabinet members, and others that have been appointed, ratified, then been terminated or forced to resign in disgrace.

Here is a list of people that have left the Trump administration as of Dec 2019.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court is currently controlled by right leaning appointees. In addition, Trump is appointing a great many federal trial and appellate judges that have supported him in some fashion and has even “flipped” the historically liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Supreme Court can deem certain laws made by Congress unconstitutional, can interpret laws, and actually “make” law, called case law. Case law is the holding in a case they heard that “makes” law. For instance, Miranda Warnings are required because of a case the Supreme Court heard called Miranda v. Arizona (topic for another day).

While there are many honorable judges out there who will follow the law, remember the law is open to interpretation, and those interpretations are based on that particular judge’s belief system, among other things. If you get enough judges to agree on a different interpretation than currently exists, like abortion, then those judges can overrule that prior precedent and make new case law.

And that’s what pro-abortion people are worried about, and pro-lifers are so thrilled about. There is a case before the Supreme Court right now that might change Roe v. Wade. It is called June Medical Service v. Russo.

Ideally, each of the three parts of the System of Checks and Balances has equal “power.” Therefore, one of the three should be able to prevent certain, shall we say, improprieties, from occurring.

At least, that is the way it is supposed to work.

And in order to actually “suspend the Constitution,” Trump will need help from more than the Senate. In my opinion, he would literally need to fill the streets with the military, led by Generals and filled with Trump supporters who are willing to violate their oaths of enlistment to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. . .”

But of course, that would legally violate the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which prevents the military from conducting domestic law enforcement on American soil.

But that’s a topic for another article.

Almost Conclusion (finally, right?)

So, to make a long story short, this system of checks and balances should ensure that the President CANNOT get more power than is allocated to him/her in the Constitution (Article II). Thus, preventing him from suspending the Constitution without a very good reason, if at all, and the agreement of the other branches of government. Some reasons could include nationwide rebellion, or invasion of American territory. But these would probably only relate to habeus proceedings.

Now that you have a very general understanding of the System of Checks and Balances, the next article will discuss one of the many other questions related to this, such as, “Can the President suspend elections?” “Can the President refuse to leave office?” “What is the Stafford Act and how does it apply to the current pandemic?” And other, burning questions that are needlessly worrying the public.

Stay tuned.

If you enjoyed this article, I hope you will subscribe to my substack blog, copforum.substack.com. There, you’ll find all the answers(eventually, since I am just starting out)to all your questions about the legal system, police officers, private investigators, general opinions about current events, and I’ll even answer your questions about anything legal.

What I won’t due is give legal advice. That is a BIG no-no.

You’ll also get a chance to enjoy my biting wit and sarcastic humor, on occasion. Oh, and if you are writing legal fiction, I can probably help you bring some realism to your procedures and characters, if you need it!