Does the government have an obligation to uphold the law?
What are the checks and balances that allow citizens to reinforce laws being upheld in our courts?
Answers:
The government does have an obligation to uphold the law and protect the public "at large", but does not have any obligation to protect you as an individual (unless you happen to be the President). You can't for instance, sue the city because some cop failed to protect you from a criminal, no matter how incompetent or negligent he was. Cops usually have some amount of leeway and discretion, and are not obligated to enforce every law 100% of the time.
The way citizens enforce laws against the government is called 'elections'.
In addition to the citizen's obligation to elect representatives that will obey and uphold the law, citizens may exercise more direct power when they serve on a jury.
Contrary to the opinion of judges and lawyers, jurors judge not only the defendant but the law itself.
Modern practice is to ensure that juries are kept ignorant of the law. They are commonly instructed by the judge to not even read the law. Jurors should insist on knowing what law is alleged to have been broken.
When the laws them self become outrageous, the jury may do something called "jury nullification".
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