The American Spectator

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To those who say, "well, if you don't have anything to hide, you do not have anything to worry about," Napolitano tells the story of Joseph Salvoti. FBI agents were so obsessed with "winning cases" that they passively allowed Salvoti, an innocent man, to wallow in jail for thirty years for a murder that he did not commit. The FBI looked the other way because it wanted to protect its informant. When a congressman confronted one of the agents about the injustice, the agent joked that the story might interest a Hollywood movie producer.

NAPOLITANO HAS EARNED RESPECT from lawyers across the political spectrum because of his nonpartisan approach to legal and constitutional analysis. He has wisely brought the neutrality that everyone expects from a judge to his job as a commentator at the Fox Network and to his book about the Constitution. He calls 'em as he sees 'em. Thus, in some places he criticizes Janet Reno; in other places, John Ashcroft. And it is refreshing to see a judge defend not only the First Amendment, but the Second Amendment as well. Napolitano reminds the reader that we ought not to take a cafeteria approach to our constitutional liberties. Hear, hear.

Napolitano concludes his book by exploding the right-left debate concerning "judicial activism" and "judicial restraint." He writes, "Let's be brutally honest about this: The only judicial activism we condemn is that with which we disagree... When judicial activism merely enforces the Constitution, it is a very good concept." That is an important point. A judge can abuse his post by substituting his opinion for the law, but that abuse can manifest itself in two distinct ways. A judge might invalidate a law passed by the legislature because he disagrees with it -- or he might let an unconstitutional law stand because he disagrees with an unfashionable constitutional principle, such as the right to private property, free speech, or the right to keep and bear arms. A good judge will refrain from both forms of misconduct.

When a vacancy opens up on the Supreme Court, the media will focus on the Roe v. Wade precedent, but Judge Napolitano recognizes that a broader perspective is necessary to understand what is really at stake. If judges fail in their duty to defend the Bill of Rights, government officials will run amok, constitutional corruption will flourish, and the land of the free will slide into chaos. Thus, what we really need is a clear-eyed defender of the Constitution, someone who is willing to defend a constitutional principle even when it is unpopular to do so.

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