this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2023
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And honestly the power of the judiciary has steadily grown for over a hundred years now. Judges and AGs have taken the citizenry out of the process by gradually eliminating juries from the process.
In 1938, 20% of federal civil suits landed in a trial by jury. Today? Less than 1%. Criminal cases have had a similar move: the courts agreed that plea bargains were constitutional as a result of 1970's Brady v. United States. Now, about 2% of criminal cases go to trial.
By removing juries from court rooms, judges have decided that the law should be the exclusive purview of educated elites. Rather than needing to make compelling arguments to a diverse body of people, lawyers just need to convince one scared person that they'll do more time if they try to fight. And judges cracking down hard on ideas like jury nullification mean that, even if the accused do go to trial, the judge might not let their peers decide anyway.
The executive and judiciary branches have taken a stranglehold on the US government while the citizenry most direct representation in Congress has gradually given up more and more.