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This page, and all subpages not in the public domain or copyrighted by others, are Copyright © 1994-2012 Constitution Society. Permission is hereby granted to copy, with attribution and a link back, for noncommercial purposes. Visitors are encouraged to download all files so that they can recreate this site or any part of it should it go down for any reason.
The site exceeded 100,000,000 page views about April 12, 2009, and 169,800,000 on Jul. 23, 2011. Page views for 2010 increased by 40% over 2009, which had increased by 31% over page views for 2008, and the trend continues.
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Keep in mind that legal practices everywhere are corrupt and incompetent in various ways and to varying degrees, and always have been, but it makes a difference in what ways and to what degree, and it requires a continual struggle by good people to reduce corruption and incompetence to the extent that can be done. The legal system is imperfect, but violence is likely to be worse, so it is usually better to give the legal system a chance to work before resorting to other alternatives, although for some issues you will need to go directly to the electoral process. We urge you to regularly devote some part of your time and resources to trying to get the legal system to produce just outcomes, not only for yourself but for everyone else, but also to be prepared to resort to extrajudicial methods, such as educating and organizing the public, lobbying, and working to elect constitutionalists. Never support any candidate for public office who does not demonstrate a commitment to strict constitutional compliance.
We define "constitutionalism" as a commitment to strict enforcement of a written constitution of government as it was originally meant and understood by its framers and ratifiers, or "legal formalism". Its opposite is the doctrine and practice of "legal realism", which holds that the "law" is whatever judges do or can be expected to do, whose main tenet is the doctrine of binding stare decisis as presently practiced, and which is fundamentally in conflict with adherence to a written constitution as originally meant and understood
Some have come to despair of the Constitution itself, or even blame it for the mess we are in. But constitutions and laws don't enforce themselves. The design of the Constitution is good enough, and better than any alternative we might get. It is not well understood by most people, or something which most people are diligent about enforcing. That is not to say the Constitution could not be clarified for the sake of modern people who don't want to learn the legal English of 1787, and we have proposed Clarifying Amendments, but the problem is not the Constitution. The problem is the people. Of course one can't hold the people as a whole accountable. Historical events will do that. Probably another depression that is about to descend on us.We can hope than when enough people are in enough agony some of them will pick up on what we have long been telling them.
The information on this site is not "legal advice" that might help you achieve favorable outcomes in a court. If you seek an outcome in your case, rather than to take a principled position or to reform the system, you should consult a local lawyer familiar with the facts and "law" in your case, preferably one that is well-connected. For advice on constitutional law, or any legal area,you can perform a lawyer search to find one that specializes in your area of need.
