Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

No, the judicial branch which is supposed to enforce the law regardless of who was voted for…

Yknow… the branch that’s supposed to check the power of the executive branch…



The judicial branch can't prosecute, that's what the executive branch does, and it's the executive branch that's doing these things. The legislative branch has the power to keep the executive branch in check, but they're not exercising that power - which I'm saying is bordering on criminal. Obviously, the executive branch is unlikely to prosecute the legislative branch for not taking action against the executive branch. Our constitution has the implicit assumption that all three branches wouldn't be in cahoots with one another, and should they be, the electorate was expected to have enough sense to vote out the legislators and replace them with ones that would keep the executive in check. The million dollar question is how much pain and destruction will be endured until that happens?


4 years of it, if I remember correctly


Two years - Congress is replaced every two years. 1/3 of the Senate is replaced every two years. Given that they've only been in office for two weeks, two years seems like a long way off.


House not Congress. Elected not replaced. It is unlikely enough senators will be replaced in 2026.


Arrests don’t need prosecutors involved unless they need a warrant.


Arrests need warrants. And if you're thinking about the police, that's also part of the executive, mostly. Judges can't do anything unless some other branch of the government asks them to.


> Arrests need warrants.

Arrests need probable cause. They can either be done on a warrant or without a warrant (in the latter case, in the federal system, a complaint must be filed and the arrested person must be brought before a magistrate for a hearing on probable cause within 72 hours after arrest.)


Not even a little bit, do you think a judge gets involved before someone is arrested for a DUI? Or trespassing, simple assault, shoplifting, etc?


The Justice Department, including the FBI and federal prosecutors, are run by appointees of the president.

The president can replace them.


Those are just...guidelines.


I'm afraid you let that ship sail. You now have a king and a court with untrammeled power - good luck when a successor needs to be found.


Seems like we've jumped into the wayback machine and set a course to a year before 1215...


>No, the judicial branch which is supposed to enforce the law regardless of who was voted for…

The judiciary has zero enforcement power. They make the laws which the executive is meant to enforce. If the executive fails to enforce a law, congress can impeach. That's not happening.


The legislative branch makes the laws. The Judicial branch judges whether laws were broken. The executive branch has the power to enforce laws (or to not enforce them, as they see fit).

The current executive branch will not enforce laws against itself, and nobody else is legally allowed to enforce the laws, so all the courts & congress can do is write strongly worded letters.


You're almost right. The thing is that Congress absolutely has the power to impeach the president and strip them of all legal office. Of course, most of Congress is perfectly happy with what's going on, so this won't happen.


That’s not how it works.

The executive branch runs the country.

The legislative branch makes the laws.

The judicial branch enforces them…




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: