We talked about the principle of legality in Criminal Law today. The main idea is that we can't let the judicial system create new crimes because it would give the prosecutors, judges, and cops too much power. Aren’t there other ways to limit their power other than eliminating all flexibility? Judges can be impeached, prosecutors and cops can be fired.

In cases like those we went over today, it seems appropriate for the court to step in. Why can’t the courts represent a “safety net” when the legislature fails to act or acts inappropriately? If we later determine that the court did the wrong thing, we can impeach the judge, grant the defendant clemency, pass a new statute, and all that.