Section 1 The judicial power of the Confederation of Free States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as Congress may deem necessary. The judges of both Supreme and inferior courts shall hold their offices for a maximum of 21 years, upon which time they shall henceforth be ineligible for the court that they serve. Congress may impeach a justice for the commitment of a serious crime. They shall receive for their services compensation as prescribed by law, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.
Judges should be free from outside interference but there is no valid reason for a lifetime appointment. Twenty-one years on a single court is sufficient to remove outside tampering without giving any one justice too much power.
Section 2 The judicial power shall extend to all cases, criminal and civil, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the Confederation of Free States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, with valid Constitutional authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the Confederation of Free States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more states; between a state and a citizen of a state; between citizens or entities of different states; and between a state, or a citizen thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.
The trial of all crimes, including those of civilian and military nature, except in the cases of impeachment, shall be held by a jury of twelve persons; and such trial shall be in the state where the said crimes shall have been committed. Conviction or acquittal shall be by unanimous consent, and the juries shall have the power to judge both the facts and the law in all cases.
Military court martial is unjust. The right to a trial by jury of ones peers should not be taken away because one volunteers to serve in the military. Juries are the final line of defense in protecting the sovereignty of the people from an oppressive government. The judiciary can be just as oppressive as other branches of government. Juries must be allowed to judge both fact and law in all cases. The refusal by juries to convict in the pre-Civil War fugitive slave cases are the most striking examples of the necessity of this principle. More recently juries have been bullied by judges into surrendering this power, especially in cases involving vices rather than crimes. Encoding this power of the jury is therefore necessary.
Section 3 The Supreme Court shall consist of exactly nine justices, including one Chief Justice, appointed by the President and confirmed by two-thirds of the Senate. Inferior courts shall exist as congress shall from time to time ordain and establish.
Section 4 The judicial system shall construe the words of this Constitution exactly as they are stated, without any attempt to infer the unwritten intent of the framers. Rulings of the judiciary shall apply only to the case at hand and shall not establish precedent or make new law. A citizen cannot be refused a hearing by a court, lower or Supreme, and cannot be denied a jury trial if demanded for any reason. Judges shall not be afforded any immunity for violation of rights while acting as a judge.
In matters of Constitutional law, the judiciary shall have only the power of negation, inhibiting the Legislative and Executive branches from over stepping their authorized power.
Section 5 The Judicial Review Board shall consist of nine justices who shall hold their office for a maximum of ten years from the time of their approval, upon which time they shall henceforth be ineligible for the court that they serve. When vacancies occur the Chief Justice shall nominate a new justice, who shall take office immediately upon the majority approval of the Supreme Court. Members of the Judicial Review board are immune from impeachment by Congress, but may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Supreme Court, for any reason.
