Federal Judiciary

MLK Day

By AndrewHyman

Here's a brief part of Martin Luther King's letter from a Birmingham jail (1963):

One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

If an unjust law violates the Constitution, then judges can overturn the penalty. But not all unjust laws violate the Constitution, in which case the penalty should be accepted, as Dr. King said.

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Full post as published by ConfirmThem on January 21, 2008 (boomark / email).