The 37th Amendment: A Novel (32 page)
“This is really uncomfortable,” Royce said.
“I’m sorry,” Ted said. He released her and wondered, at fifty, if he’d ever learn to understand women.
“Not you,” Royce said. “This thing we’re sitting on.” She stood up and rubbed her tailbone. Then she looked at him and smiled mischievously. “That’s so sweet, that you want to get married,” she said, barely containing her laughter. “So old-fashioned. Not like you at all.” She walked over to Ted and sat on his lap, resting her wrists on his shoulders. Ted felt himself blushing. “I guess that wasn’t a proper proposal,” he said. “Let me try again.” He reached up and took Royce’s hands. He looked into her eyes. “I have always loved you,” he said simply. “Will you marry me?”
Royce smiled radiantly. “No,” she said.
Ted looked around as if the lights had gone out. He dropped Royce’s hands into her lap.
“Nobody gets married,” Royce said, “Especially in California.” She stood up and walked a few steps, turning to face the view of the city. The lights of Hollywood were just beginning to glimmer against the darkening sky. Royce watched the sunset in silence. It seemed to Ted that she stood there a very long time. Finally she turned and looked at him.
“I would consider moving in with you,” she said. “But I don’t want to get married and I’m not giving up my apartment. That way, if one of us decides we want our freedom back, it won’t take a constitutional amendment.” She extended her right hand. “Deal?” she asked.
Ted stood up, wrapped his arms around Royce and kissed her. “Deal,” he said.
“Let’s call Flynn on her wireless,” Royce beamed. “I can’t wait to tell her.”
T
HE
E
ND
O
NE NOTE
T
he Felix Frankfurter quotation at the beginning of the book, “The due process clauses ought to go,” is taken from an unsigned editorial entitled “The Red Terror of Judicial Reform,” written by Frankfurter for
The New Republic,
October 1, 1924. It is reprinted in
Law and Politics: Occasional Papers of Felix Frankfurter, 1913-1938,
Archibald MacLeish and E. F. Prichard, Jr., editors, p. 16 (1971). Here is the full quotation:
An informed study of the work of the Supreme Court of the United States will probably lead to the conclusion that no nine men are wise enough and good enough to be entrusted with the power which the unlimited provisions of the due process clauses confer. We have had fifty years of experiment with the Fourteenth Amendment, and the centralizing authority lodged with the Supreme Court over the domestic affairs of forty-eight widely different states is an authority which it simply cannot discharge with safety either to itself or to the states. The due process clauses ought to go. It is highly significant that not a single constitution framed for English-speaking countries since the Fourteenth Amendment has embodied its provisions. And one would indeed be lacking in a sense of humor to suggest that life, liberty, or property is not amply protected in Canada, Australia, South Africa. By eliminating this class of cases the Supreme Court would really be relieved of a contentiously political burden. It would free itself to meet more adequately the jurisdiction which would remain and which ought to remain. The Court would still exercise the most delicate and powerful function in our dual system of government. To discharge it wisely, it needs a constant play of informed criticism by the professional as well as the lay press. This, in turn, implies an alertly progressive bar, the product of a lively spirit of legal education at our universities, and a public opinion trustful of the workings of our judiciary because the trust is justified by its exercise.
A
BOUT THE AUTHOR
“A
history degree?? What are you going to do with
that?
”
This. And a few other things.
So far, Susan Shelley has used her history degree from California State University to work as an executive secretary for William Morris Agency CEO Norman Brokaw, a production assistant to Emmy Award-winning director Dick Carson, and Associate Producer of the game shows
Jeopardy!
and
Headline Chasers
for Merv Griffin Enterprises. She’s the founder and managing editor of ExtremeInk.com, where she edits and distributes comedian Argus Hamilton’s nationally syndicated daily humor column. She’s the creator and writer of tidbits® puzzles, an original word game now available in paperback from ExtremeInk Books. She’s the author of
How the First Amendment Came to Protect Topless Dancing: A Citizen's Guide to the Incorporation Doctrine
and is currently working on her next book,
Uncle Sam’s Nickel: The Five Percent Flat Tax That Will Restore Freedom and Prosperity.
Just as everyone said, you can’t do anything with a history degree.
M
ORE FROM THIS AUTHOR
HOW THE FIRST AMENDMENT CAME TO PROTECT TOPLESS DANCING: A Citizen’s Guide to the Incorporation Doctrine
shines a light on the inside game that has allowed the U.S. Supreme Court to seize control of state and local laws on issues from topless dancing to panhandling, from drug searches to abortion, from prison management to the death penalty. Read the true story of how the Supreme Court interpreted away the powers reserved to the states and replaced them with what Texas Congressman Ron Paul called “the phony incorporation doctrine” and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia called “the biggest stretch that the Court has made.”
Now available for the Kindle.
Coming Soon
UNCLE SAM’S NICKEL: The Five Percent Flat Tax That Will Restore Freedom and Prosperity
What would you do tomorrow if you knew you could keep 95 percent of the money you made doing it? Would you start a business, or expand one? Would you invest in a new company? Buy real estate for rental income? What would happen if everyone did?
What would happen if the United States turned itself into the greatest tax haven in the world and companies overseas suddenly rushed to move here?
Are you tired of hearing that millions of Americans
will never again be part of the workforce?
Are you tired of hearing that American children
will not live as well as their parents?
Are you tired of hearing that America’s economy is
facing Armageddon?
You will want to read this book.
Coming soon to the Kindle Store at Amazon.com.