Justice Frank Cruise Haymond Quote - Liberty Quotes Blog

"Unlike ordinary legislation, a constitution is enacted by the people themselves in their sovereign capacity and is therefore the paramount law."

by:	Justice Frank Cruise Haymond (1887-1972) West Virginia Court of Appeals (1946-1972)
Source:	Lance v. Board of Education, 170 S.E.2d 783, 793 (1969) (dissent)
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Reader comments about this quote:

That is the way it is suppossed to be, the reality of it all, is sad -- john Q public, usa
The Earl Warren and Warren Burger courts did not believe this. -- Cal, lewisville, tx
The comparison to ordinary legislation and, equating the U.S. or W. Virginia Constitution(s) to be paramount law is not accurate but, here lends itself to a certain administrative overview. The Constitution is not law, but rather, a defining limitation or finite scope on which ordinary legislation may address law. Law, existed prior to man's coming to exist on this orb and will exist long after he is gone. Man can not create law. Each and every, any and all individuals are sovereign in sight of the law. The Constitution is a form of compact addressing and protecting an innumerable list of inalienable rights (you can either attempt to innumerate every inalienable right under every circumstance OR, you can limit the scope of your servants' [government] actions). A constitution (with in the de jure States United) is not legislation (ordinary or otherwise). De jure / Constitutional legislation defines law for man's understanding and administrative uses (by way of example, at fiscal law, if someone is incapable of paying back debt, the legislative term given to such scenario is bankruptcy). -- Mike, Norwalk 1
Mike, as far as the courts are concerned, yes, a written human Constitution is the ONLY 'law' that the courts are to administer and Constitutional law trumps legislative statutes. The courts have no authority to be the judges of Natural Law. In fact, Natural Law needs no courts, no documents, no enforcement -- it is automatically enforced. Whether our current customs are in harmony with Natural Law or not, we as individuals cannot avoid the consequences of our actions whether they are 'legal' or not. When we are born, there is no 'Natural Law' book that we are to follow -- we have to figure it out every one of us, generation after generation. That is why our conscience is still given final say in trial by jury in which the jury are the judges of both law and fact. -- E Archer, NYC 1

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