Court could get more results by jailing legislators

Interesting juxtaposition of the two above the fold stories in the Sunday edition of Aug. 16 that dealt respectively with the opening of new jail and the legislative logjam on education.

A very long time ago the Supreme Court ordered our legislature to fully fund education in accord with the state constitution. Its failure to act has produced a citation for contempt of court. For we "ordinary citizens," contempt of court would result in a indeterminate jail term until the contempt is purged.

Instead of a $100,000 a day fine, which puts the burden on taxpayers, why not put the entire legislature in the new jail and keep them there until they act in accord with the mandate of the court. They would not be permitted to draw their $120 a day in per diem. Instead they could put on their orange suits and do some street and road repair, which would be infinitely more productive than anything they have accomplished in the most recent multitude of sessions.

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Court could get more results by jailing legislators."