​The U.S. government exists to enable, support, and otherwise defend its citizens in the free enjoyment and practice of their Rights & Freedoms reinforced by the Founding Documents. First, from the government itself, and then, from those who would violate the citizen’s rights - foreign enemies or domestic criminals.

The government has no rights or powers save those granted by the citizenry and

only in fair and equal service of the people it represents.

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Justice Under the Law is the connective tissue that provides the necessary balance and resolution when the rights and responsibilities of Americans conflict with one another. All rights and freedoms have a corresponding responsibility that balances the benefit. The primary element that burdens rights and freedoms in a free society is the strict requirement for all holders to respect and defend the equal rights of all others.

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My right is no greater than your equal right. Your freedom does not lessen or extinguish my freedom.

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“And maybe just remind the few, if ill of us they speak,

That we are all that stands between, the monsters and the weak.”

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The way to have good and safe government, is not to trust it all to one; but to divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the functions he is competent to. Let the National government be entrusted with the defence of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations; the State governments with the civil rights, laws, police and administration of what concerns the states generally; the Counties with the local concerns of the counties, and each Ward direct the interests within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these republics from the great National one down thro’ all its subordinates, until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm and affairs by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best. – Thom. Jefferson

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Currently in the United States, law enforcement operates within a system of three branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. Justice is established by legislation of the Congress, faithfully executed by the Executive and adjudicated by the Judiciary. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without Due Process. Simple and clear.

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• Legislative Branch, consisting of Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives), makes laws. Congress enacts statutes that define criminal offenses, penalties, and procedures. It also allocates funding for law enforcement agencies at the federal level. Congressional committees oversee law enforcement agencies’ activities and policies. States have a similar legislative structure modeled on the national system but specific to their jurisdiction.

 

• Executive Branch, led by the President at the federal level (and governors at the state level), carries out and enforces laws. The President appoints federal law enforcement officials (e.g., FBI directors, U.S. Marshals) and heads of agencies such as the Department of Justice who then operate under executive branch authority. These agencies have jurisdiction across the entire country and handle matters that cross state lines or involve federal laws. State governors appoint state-level law enforcement officials and State law enforcement agencies operate within a specific state’s boundaries to enforce state laws and regulations. Local law enforcement operates within cities, towns, and counties, charged with a wide array of duties such as patrolling neighborhoods, investigating crimes, and responding to emergencies. They focus on maintaining public safety and enforcing local ordinances. As the forward face of the Executive branch, the local police force must be given the tools and respect to serve the abiding population and protect against the criminal elements, who come in a myriad of forms and levels of malevolence. Care should be taken to prevent the police from straying from their Constitutional mandates but are to be recognized and appreciated as our first line of defense against the darker forces that lurk close.

 

• Judicial Branch, including the Supreme Court and other federal and State courts, interprets laws and ensures their constitutionality. Courts evaluate individual cases, determine guilt or innocence, and impose sentences. They also review law enforcement actions to ensure they comply with constitutional rights.

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Each branch influences the others through checks and balances. The President can veto legislative bills (subject to Congressional override). Congress confirms or rejects presidential appointments. The Supreme Court can find laws unconstitutional. Law enforcement agencies operate within this framework, respecting the balance of power.

Just as there must be a balance between security and individual liberty, so too must there be a balance, however difficult to achieve, between the often-conflicting rights of one individual or group at cross-purposes with another.   As arbiter of the conflicts and competitions of its citizens, the government must be bound to provide fair and equal adjudication by employing sound and true principles:

 

• Fairness: Legal decisions and decision makers must be neutral and unbiased. No favor or disfavor should attach based on personal beliefs, prejudices, or affiliations. Arbitrary and capricious decisions must be avoided by following Due Process. The opportunity to mount a defense against accusation by full and informed presentation, equal access to competent legal representation and open challenge to evidence and testimony is critical. In a legal adjudication, equal weight should be given to both parties to a conflict but once fairly decided, the interest of the victims should be superior to that of the violator. When the violator is the government itself, more severe retribution is warranted. Unresolved and repeated violations by the government or its agents, of the citizen’s rights and freedoms, deserve both institutional and personal punishment, by extrajudicial means if warranted.     

 

Undue Respect for the Guilty is Contempt for the Innocent.

  

• Equality: The protections and treatment of the law should apply equally to all individuals and groups no matter their particular circumstance, attributes or background, with no preferential treatment or discrimination. Equality should not be conflated with Equity, the leveling of decisions based on an individual’s circumstances or historical disadvantages. Just as the Founders sought to abolish the ‘leveling’ of wealth to provide unjust enrichment to unaccomplished individuals with the assets of those more fortunate, Equity should be rejected in the legal sphere as contrary and corrosive to the underlying promise of Equality.

 

American Democratic Capitalism promises equality of opportunity, not equality of result.

 

• Proper Adjudication: The process of resolving legal disputes should involve judges, courts, and other decision-makers interpreting laws, assessing evidence, and rendering judgments in a coherent and balanced manner, always faithful to the absolute truth and without falsehood or prevarication. As the center arena for the Justice process, courts must properly and faithfully bring and hear cases, weigh evidence, and apply sound legal principles to reach decisions. Judges must be responsible for ensuring fair proceedings, correctly interpreting laws, and issuing just rulings. Their impartiality is crucial for maintaining public trust in the legal system.

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All the robes of the fair and just judges cannot cover the inequity of one corrupt judge.

 

Government serves only to delineate and enable the ideals of the Founding Documents – establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty for all Americans. All laws and regulations must be tested against these standards, and the directives established by the Constitution, and be soundly rejected where they stray from the bounds granted by the People.

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American citizens must be vigilant to erosions of these principles, especially at the hands of those entrusted with their faithful execution, be they governmental officers or their agents. The Constitutional Oath of Office must be revered, and violators punished most severely. A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.

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Along with the growth of the country since the Founding, laws and law enforcement have expanded exponentially. Expansion of the law enforcement system to meet the needs of a more complex and populous nation, and support the original mandates of the Constitution, is necessary and important. Danger lies in the bureaucratic creep that strays from the prime directives of the Founding Documents and the subsequent weaponization of the system against the People. A patriot will forcefully challenge the unchecked bureaucratic state and prevent the erosion and mutation of the righteous purpose of government.

In the 21st century United States, this may be the pivotal conflict that leads to civil revolution.