Marc Victor
Sunni: [laughs] What kind of response, if any, do you get from your fellow attorneys, judges, and others to things like your refusal to preside over drug cases when you were named judge pro tem or your article Legalize Methamphetamine!?
Marc: My refusal to sit as a judge pro tem in any drug case was met with mixed opinions. Some defense attorneys thought I should simply use judicial discretion to go easy on drug offenders. However, participating as a judge in a drug case and doing anything but dismissing it was simply intolerable to me. It cost me a possible judicial career, but I would do it the same way again and have no regrets. All rational people loved the legalize methamphetamine article. [chuckles] The ones who disagreed seemed curiously unwilling to debate it with me.
Sunni: I'm familiar with that situation myself. Obviously you don't mind making your pro-freedom views known, but I imagine that choice wasn't taken without consideration. You have a family to support, and with that kind of responsibility, it's hard not be thinking of the future. Did you trade some goals for speaking out now?
Marc: I didn't give up anything. Maybe 90% of the people don't like me or wouldn't hire me because of my pro-freedom views. However, it sometimes seems that 10% of people won't accept any other attorney. I believe I'm unmatched in dedication to liberty and libertarian/American ideals by any other criminal defense attorney. My strong pro-freedom views have netted me more work than any work I may have lost. Plus, it would be impossible for me to hide my views in any event.
Sunni: Yeah, I know what you mean. And you are a beacon of hope for a lot of people, in various ways, especially given the typically ugly political systems they can get caught up in.
Marc: I make it a point to stay out of politics as much as possible. I'm a principled non-voter. It seems to me that politics is the problem. We need education and to win the hearts and minds of Americans so that they again value freedom and individual liberty. That is not a political exercise. We need to draw distinctions between the concepts of freedom and democracy.
Sunni: That's an excellent point, Marc. Democracy does not protect, nor advance liberty. More and more freedom-loving individuals are saying that the Constitution is essentially worthless nowadays, especially given Bush and company's nosy predilections. I took that view after the Hiibel case myself, and see little reason for changing it. Do you see the situation similarly, or are we missing something?
Marc: Some would say the Constitution has always been worthless. It is the attitude of the people in the community which is most important in preserving freedom. Mere words on a piece of paper can never restrain the predictable and constant encroachment of government. Constitutional provisions protecting the freedoms of individuals are regularly given very restrictive and narrow interpretations while constitutional powers of government are regularly given very broad and expansive interpretations.
