By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
Much has been said and written about Americans being subject to the “rule of law”, especially since the man from Mar-A-Lago was indicted 34 times by a Manhattan grand jury.
Despite the anguished cries of protest from fellow Republicans, No. 45 was compelled to come to court with his lawyers and enter pleas to each charge, many of which were connected to “hush money” he allegedly paid to women who agreed not to disclose their personal relationships with him.
The melodrama being played out in a New York courtroom marks the first time a former U. S. president has been charged with a criminal offense after leaving office.
What is the origin of the “rule of law”?
In search of that answer, I went to my favorite information source, Wikipedia, which describes itself as “a free, open content online encyclopedia created through the collaborative effort of a community of users.”
Here’s part of what I found:
“The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the Encyclopedia Britannica as “the mechanism, process, institution, practice, or norm that supports the equality of all citizens before the law, secures a non-arbitrary form of government, and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power.”
I discovered that Scottish theologian Samuel Rutherford employed that phrase in arguing against the divine right of kings in the 17th century. In fact, great thinkers have railed against abuse of power all the way back to Aristotle.
Essentially, the rule of law declares that each of us is subject to the law, including all types of elected and/or appointed officials. Wikipedia notes that the rule of law stands in contrast to tyranny or oligarchy, where the rulers are held above the law.
And that’s how I see it as your self-appointed jailhouse lawyer.
(Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com).
