The court's recent decisions have made life more difficult for the democratic institutions that perform the day- to-day work of our nation.

On every journey you take, you are met with options. At every fork in the road, you make a choice. These are the decisions that shape your life.

Since its inception, our Nation has stood on the foundations of compassion and justice.

When it comes to our Constitution, judges perform, certainly, an important role. But the people, acting through their elected representatives, should play an even more important role.

Sometimes local, state and federal laws so clearly run afoul of the Constitution that the court must step in and strike them down. In most cases, the court performs this admirably and with great restraint.

Some have even suggested that this recent trend has transformed our democracy from one founded on, "We the people," to one ruled by, "We the court."

I have seen the cycle of a non-violent, mentally ill offender who is arrested repeatedly and put into the system repeatedly-never being treated for his illness and, as a result, becoming more and more ill.