Why is the Justice Dept in the executive branch?

[jgraz]

Wouldn't it make more sense to have it be part of the federal courts system? Would that have helped prevent the BS that's going on now?

[LSK]

1. Legislative makes the laws, Executive enforces, Judicial determines if Laws are Constiutional

Isnt that the basics?

[merh]

2. They are the law enforcement branch

the legislature writes the laws, the executive enforces the laws and the judiciary is the judge to determine if the laws as written and as enforced are in compliance with the constitution.

That's the simpliest way to explain it, that is the checks and balances of our system.

[jgraz]

3. The problem comes in when the executive has to enforce laws against itself

Shouldn't the courts have some oversight and investigative power that is independent of elected officials?

[merh]

5. congress does have the oversight

just cause bush is claiming they don't doesn't mean he is correct - they can claim all they want that congress has no authority over the executive branch, but they are wrong - Ken Starrr and Monicagate - Richard Nixon and Watergate, proved them wrong.

[jgraz]

7. Exactly -- why wouldn't the Judicial branch also have that authority?

I understand the intentions of the constitution. I'm just wondering if we're seeing a loophole here when both legislative and executive are run by the same band of criminals.

[merh]

8. They have to remain above the politics

they have to be the keepers of the constitution, the ones that don't allow politics to sway them - we both know that is not the case these days, this admin has politicized every branch it can, but in theory.

[C_U_L8R]

4. Justice is really a misnaming

it's more about law enforcement and prosecution.

[damntexdem]

6. For the Justice Department to work as part of this Administration, ...

they would all have to be undercover. The cops should infiltrate the crooks, not be run by them. ;-)

[Rex]

9. Executive executes the law and the FBI belongs to the DoJ.

Same as the State Department, would make more sense to be found in Congress somewhere as a liaison to the Executive. Same as the DoJ to the Judicial.

[originalpckelly]

10. Actually, I agree with you. There is a difference in my mind...

between in the moment execution of laws, which the executive branch should be responsible for, and the advocate of the state in a proceeding to determine whether or not a law has been broken.

There ought to be a fourth branch of government, which included public defenders, the FBI and other investigative agencies, and finally the prosecutor. It should be called the adversarial branch or something akin to that.

I also believe there should be a house of governors that oversees the President, and exercises executive authority in the various states. In other words, there would be 50 governors and each of them would be Chief Executive of the federal government in their respective state. The foreign policy powers of the current President would still exist, but the office would only be foreign policy and ceremonial.

[jgraz]

11. Not sure I agree with all of your conclusions...

but one thing the last 6 years show is that we need a new constitutional convention to address some of the ways in which this regime was able to abuse their power.

[Pat Speer]

12. executive power

The Legislature makes the laws, The Supreme Court interprets the laws, the Executive branch enforces the laws. When the Executive branch fails to enforce the laws properly, or to use the law for political advantage, it is the DUTY of the Legislature to impeach the Executive. The problem with this country and our system is that, going back to FDR, the Executive branch has cultivated the image of President as king, so that the public is highly resistant to impeachment. Nixon should have been gone in a heartbeat. Instead he dragged it out. Reagan should have bit it during Iran/Contra. Instead, he made the country FEEL SORRY for him, as if he had some divine right to rule. Similarly, while Clinton should never have been involved in a civil suit while President, he should have stepped down when it became clear he'd lied under oath. The integrity of the Presidency has to be beyond question, and it is the DUTY of the legislature to constantly question it anyhow. That's how it's supposed to work.

Now how it really works is that the President, by definition a politician, is given this neat toy called the Justice Department, which he almost inevitably uses for political purposes, to help his cronies and hurt his enemies. And the legislature looks the other way.

I'm a Kennedy assassination researcher, and one of the most disturbing conclusions one gets from looking at the official record, is that the Justice Department itself was the orchestrator of the cover-up. The Justice Department is the muscle of the Presidency, and the second Kennedy was dead, the Justice Dept. under Katzenbach and the FBI under Hoover became concerned with one thing--pleasing the NEW President, Lyndon B. Johnson. It's not a coincidence that Johnson's appointment of the Warren Commission blocked Congress from investigating, and that when Congress finally did investigate, they found a probable conspiracy.

Here's a link to my new video discussing lies told to the Warren Commission about the medical evidence, and Arlen Specter's role in the cover-up:
<http://www.noisivision.com/jfk.htm>

The one on Specter is the vid on the bottom right.