Politicians serve as the voice of the people. They are elected via their community or state and carry out the wills and wishes of their represented area.
Although we would like to think all is good and just in the world, the reality is that absolute power corrupts absolutely. When you put one single person in charge of an entire nation, chaos is ensured. There is no better example of this notion than in the book by George Orwell, Animal Farm.
Many of the characters in the novel are eventually corrupted by the power they have as they manipulate their position of leadership to exploit other animals. For example, the pigs take charge and begin to control the other animals. After Snowball (one of the intelligent pigs) is cast off, Napoleon (another pig) takes control of the farm and begins to implement unfair and unjust laws, gradually turning into a complete dictator and resembling more of a monstrous man.
It's no surprise that Animal Farm serves as an allegorical commentary on what went wrong when Czarist Russia evolved into Communist Russia. Orwell's work still holds up many ideas and themes that is analogous to current events in the 21st century. Dictatorships are still very much a reality.
To avoid any abuses of power, the US has a three branch system, ensuring each branch the power to check one another and maintaining a separation of powers. In the executive branch, we have the president and his cabinet. In the judicial, its most prominent members are the Supreme Court Justices. Finally, in the legislative, we have the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Of all the branches, Supreme Court Justices receive the longest job tenure, often serving in their positions for life once appointed and approved by the other branches. Every other position in the remaining two branches are elected via the people.
Now returning to the question at hand: What kind of role, if any, should politicians have in attempting to influence judicial decisions and why or why not should they have them?
As aforementioned, politicians are elected to propose, support and create laws or policies that govern the land and, by extension, its people. In a democracy, such as in the US, people vote on who they would rather select to be their voice in the government. Their responsibility is to carry out the wishes of the people who elected them to their positions in the first place.
After analyzing the question at hand meticulously, I have come to the conclusion that politicians should NOT try to influence judicial decisions, if it is NOT the will of their people. The three government branches exist for this very purpose, to keep the rest from overreaching into territory that does not concern them whatsoever. When politics turn into personal gain and advantage, that is when it becomes an abuse of power.
The duty of a court justice is to specifically adhere to the Constitution. They are meant to rule out a hearing that will satisfy the written law. A law meant to protect potential victims and condone offenders.
In February 2019, a federal jury in Indiana returned a $15 million verdict in a medical malpractice case, holding a third-party imaging center liable for the negligence of an independent radiologist under the theory of apparent agency.Â
In the example above, the court ruled in favor of the patient. The facility was held responsible for its malpractice. This is why the system was created to do: to protect and serve the people.
It was proven by the court that there was medical malpractice in this case. The victim is protected by the laws against malpractice and received a settlement as an assuage in order to compensate for the atrocious crime. Although the victim received retribution in a monetary form, these types of situations cannot simply be solved with money. There are further steps that must be taken.
The goal of the current liability system for medical error claims in the U.S. is to compensate patients for injuries caused by medical negligence and to prevent health care providers from practicing negligently or recklessly.
Besides settlements, the justice system must guarantee that the crime is not repeated. They secure citizen's safety by not only remanding the professional in question, but investigating the facility as well. In some cases, doctors lose their licenses, their jobs, and the facility could potentially be shut down.
We need politicians.
Politicians are the heroes to the everyday person. They look out for the "little guy," and save those who cannot defend themselves. Politicians serve as paragons for justice. They fight against heinous villains with nefarious morals and intentions. Laws and policies are created in order to serve this same purpose. We, the people, entrust these selected individuals with power willingly, in hopes that they use it for good.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Our government system actively works to prevent abuses of power. If there is a corrupt political figure, the system is built to weed and prosecute them out. Trust is a two way street. If we cannot trust our representatives to carry out our wishes, then the whole system falls apart. We'd truly be living in an animal farm.
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