Editorial Corner: "Common Law"

"We the People are the rightful master of both congress and the courts - not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." Abraham Lincoln


One of the big concepts of American History is the transition of American Law via England from a land of Kings to the land of common law, where all men had rights to property, and other freedoms, regardless of the priviledge of birth. If you search on Yahoo under "Common Law" the quotation from Abraham Lincoln is one of the first things you come upon. If you visit Springfield and step back in time with Abraham Lincoln, you can sense how important bringing law to the common man was to Abe. It was very real then...travelling the circuit and sleeping in coach houses like ours in Evanville.

The notion that all men should be treated equally before the law is the first building block of American democracy. Yet, this building block is not to be taken for granted, but must be fought for every step of the way. At the very beginning of American history, women and slaves were not considered persons, but rather property. That was changed.

In a world of laws, a citizen can come before his/her government and inquire about the status of the law and be given a uniform response, not a special ordinance legislated because of whom one knows.

So-----

I was pleased the other night when the Evansville Planning Commission discussed uniform processes for evaluation of "impact" on the taxpayer from proposed annexation. The Planning Commission also discussed making a draft of an ordinance that would establish the requirement that a "traffic impact analysis" be done BEFORE and not AFTER a development proposal is approved. These are two items that the taxpayers have been requesting for a long time.

The Planning Commission also began discussion with a lighting ordinance specialist that would establish an ordinance that would regulate light in the city, especially in the commercial and downtown area. This arose out of the Big box ordinance development, which the Observer had the pleasure of sitting in on.

Some see the uniform administration of laws as a threat. Yes. Uniform administration of law is a threat to those who rely on special ordinances to circumvent normal rules. Regular citizens appreciate laws being enforced in a uniform manner.

That's how I see it.