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The most absurd judicial
ruling since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the
phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional
might be the
decision by a Colorado judge to overturn a convicted
murderer’s death sentence last month because one or more juror read
the Bible. The case involves an unsympathetic character named
Robert Harlan, who was convicted in 1995 of kidnapping, raping, and
strangling a 25-year-old woman. As an encore he shot and paralyzed
another woman who stopped to help.
One of these days I’m going
to wade through my archives and count how many times I’ve quoted the
First Amendment in its entirety. As often as it is used to make one
point or another you’d think the words would be so etched on the
collective American conscience that it wouldn’t be necessary.
The Colorado ruling proves
once again that’s not the case, so here it is: “Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of
grievances.”
Forty-five elegantly simple
words out of which have been fantasized everything from separation
of church and state to privacy rights and unfettered abortion,
though the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth amendments have also
been claimed to support the latter two. This has been courtesy of
the courts rather than legislators, who wreak plenty of mischief of
their own but seem less inclined to outright hallucinate.
Harlan’s attorneys jumped on the fact that the hotel
rooms in which jurors were housed had not been stripped of their
Bibles, leading to what I call the Gideon defense in honor of the
group that supplies the Good Book free to hotels around the world.
According to this theory, access to religious works
during deliberations void a jury’s decisions because the writings
aren’t part of the law. Religious freedom is, though if the
Constitution suspends that during a trial the defense forgot to
fabricate it. I mean mention it.
Associated Press reports that the court fell for it.
Adams County District Judge John Vigil wrote in his decision “if any
case merits the death penalty, there cannot be serious debate about
this case being that case.” Debating it anyway, he added “jury
resort to biblical code has no place in a constitutional death
penalty proceeding” and tossed the sentence.
Harlan’s attorneys accused jurors of reading the Bible
and jotting down quotes during while sequestered, though it isn’t
clear whether Bibles were brought into the jury room. But was it
really the physical presence of the book that bothered the defense,
or the fact that jurors might follow its precepts as part of their
faith? No doubt it’s the latter, which should scare the stuffing
out of anyone who truly cares about constitutional rights.
It is hardly necessary to have a Bible in one’s room to
know it or quote it. I’ve memorized parts myself and know people
who can recite passages at great length. If the Colorado ruling is
allowed to stand as precedent, how long before simply being a
Christian, or Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu for that matter,
precludes one from jury duty? If placing limits on one’s rights and
duties as a citizen because of his or her faith isn’t “prohibiting
the free exercise” of religion, nothing is.
Ironically, the judge singled out a juror who copied
Romans 13:1, which reads “Let every soul be subject to the governing
authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the
authorities that exist are appointed by God.” In other words, God
wants us to obey the laws of our government. I suggest the same to
Judge Vigil – after a re-reading of the First Amendment. |
