# Can this judge order the Dept. of Justice to write a letter to him? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 4, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-judge-order-the-dept-of-justice-to-write-a-letter-to-him/617777 "2012-04-04T03:33:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-judge-order-the-dept-of-justice-to-write-a-letter-to-him/617777/41 "2012-04-05T15:17:53Z")
Is it too much to hope that the punishment letter be packed with historical information showing how the extraordinary action of overturning laws was considered something that should happen only as a last resort? And about how cautiously Justice Marshall went about crafting the landmark decision? Maybe a nice long lecture about the duty of the courts to respect the authority of the people by deferring to the elected branches whenever possible? I suppose anecdotes from Greek tragedies illustrating the folly of hubris would be over the top. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-judge-order-the-dept-of-justice-to-write-a-letter-to-him/617777/42 "2012-04-05T15:22:44Z")
> [@2sense](#): > > Is it too much to hope that the punishment letter be packed with historical information showing how the extraordinary action of overturning laws was considered something that should happen only as a last resort? And about how cautiously Justice Marshall went about crafting the landmark decision? Maybe a nice long lecture about the duty of the courts to respect the authority of the people by deferring to the elected branches whenever possible? I suppose anecdotes from Greek tragedies illustrating the folly of hubris would be over the top. I’ve thought the same - I think this was intended as an embarassing judicial benchslap of the executive, but Judge Smith might have instead have just called a virtual press conference, given the DoJ the floor and handed them the microphone. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-judge-order-the-dept-of-justice-to-write-a-letter-to-him/617777/43 "2012-04-05T15:29:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > (bolding mine)I believe he called for three _single-spaced_ pages. The dictionary defines “power” as… 😃 😃 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-judge-order-the-dept-of-justice-to-write-a-letter-to-him/617777/44 "2012-04-05T15:36:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > (bolding mine)I believe he called for three _single-spaced_ pages. So he did. Still, I’ve had shopping lists longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-judge-order-the-dept-of-justice-to-write-a-letter-to-him/617777/45 "2012-04-05T17:12:16Z")
This topic was already the subject of the Great Debates thread [Appeals court fires back at Obama’s comments on health care case](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=647264), and that thread was here first and was slightly longer, so I am closing this one. [/Moderating] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-this-judge-order-the-dept-of-justice-to-write-a-letter-to-him/617777.md?page=2)