By Jeremy Morrison, Inweekly
On May 23, Rep. Mike Hill spoke in Pensacola about the recently wrapped legislative session in Tallahassee. While the hard-right Republican state legislator did not see any of the bills he sponsored make it beyond a subcommittee, he was primed to discuss how he’d try to pitch some of his bills again next session, particularly a revamped, Alabama-styled abortion bill.
An account of Hill’s off-the-rails local appearance will run in this week’s issue of Inweekly, but the Northwest Florida representative spoke on a number of topics during his remarks, way too much to unpack in one story. To whet your appetite, enjoy some leftovers that didn’t make it into the article.
Let’s ease into this, with Hill’s assessment of the judicial branch of government …
Judiciary-Schmoodiciary, Who Needs It?
In the midst of speaking about his failed efforts to pass an anti-abortion bill this legislative session, Rep. Hill swerved suddenly into a rant about the judicial branch of government. The legislator contends that the judiciary branch has been overstepping its authority, and that the other two branches of the country’s government — the executive and legislative — need to be keeping judges in check.
“The legislative and executive branch have just as much authority and ability and right to determine what is constitutional as the judicial branch does,†Hill said. “They don’t have a lock on that. The other two branches can do the same exact thing, have the authority and ability to do it. We must pull back, reign in this judicial branch, which has run away, which has gotten out of control.â€
Originally, Hill was referring to the judiciary’s role in the debate over abortion, but he soon turned to the judiciary’s involvement when it comes to President Donald Trump. Numerous efforts of the president have been thwarted or stalled by rulings that determine a given effort is an overstep — think immigration policies, etc. — and the judiciary has also played a role when it comes to the investigations — financial and otherwise — that dog Trump.
Hill’s Suggestion: Ignore the Judiciary
“And we’ve seen it just recently, that every time our president tries to make a move, they go find some leftist judge somewhere, who strikes it down. Ignore it! Because you don’t have the authority to do that anyway. Just don’t,†Hill said. “Like, they’re saying, the president has to turn over his financial records. On what grounds are you basing that on? No you don’t.â€
Hill continued: “If you go to the Supreme Court website, it’ll say ‘the final arbiters of law.’ No, it’s not. No, it’s not. You can make your decision, the legislative branch can then pass a law to usurp that decision, if they so desire, if they had the courage, the gumption and knowledge that you have that authority to do so.â€
Pulling out a copy of the U.S. Constitution, the representative went on to describe the judiciary as the “least powerful†branch of government. He pointed out that the legislative branch determines judiciary jurisdictions and also sets pay levels for judges.
“The legislative branch can abolish a court. Can they abolish a seat? No. Doesn’t sound coequal to me,†Hill said. “The legislative branch can impeach a judge. Can the judicial branch impeach a sitting member? No. It’s not coequal. They are least powerful, as they should be.â€
— Check out this week’s issue of Inweekly to read about how God instructed Hill to remove exemptions from his abortion bill next legislative session, as well as the legislator’s jokey-aside concerning imposing the death penalty for gay people.