On the repugnancy of ex post facto laws, John Jay
“To punish men for acts by laws made subsequent to the commission of such acts has, by all civilized nations, been deemed arbitrary and unjust.” – John Jay, July 1776
Liberty Letters comment: Yet this is what we now witness today via administrative law, new laws which go back in time and punish men for acts that were legal when they were committed. We see it in environmental law, we see it in the prosecution of tobacco companies that sold a legal product (that everyone knew the risks of, including the state that mandated a warning label on each pack) and are now required to pay billions for their devilish sins, and etc.
But who are the devils here?
Ex post facto laws are forbidden by our constitution, and by common moral sense. Yet how many of us stand idly by as these arbitrary and unjust laws roll forth, penalizing, fining, imprisoning, villianizing, one person, and one group after another for engaging in legal activities? Shame on us for our negligence and loss of touch with basic constitutional and moral principles. It is under Communism that we read, “the ends justify the means.” But in Christianity we are taught something better, that ‘righteous ends must be achieved by righteous means.’ And that accountability is tied into knowledge of the law, and a fair and just application of that law. Our Founders agreed. Our Constitution agreed. Two centuries of law in this country agreed. But what of today? What is the potential for legal, political, and moral evil is we fail to stand up? Where will it stop if not now? What legal legacy will we pass on to our children?
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Liberty Letters editor Steve Farrell is a pundit with America's Newspage, Newsmax.com, associate professor of political economy at George Wythe College, and the author of the highly praised inspirational novel, "Dark Rose." | More from Steve Farrell
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