The federal courts are increasingly leaving the American people defenseless against government tyranny. Over 38 years as a lawyer and federal prosecutor, I have watched the judiciary abandon the checks and balances that once made our Constitution function.

Many Americans still expect that our courts will step in and right the wrongs, even against a political stampede. But, sadly, with few exceptions like D.C. federal judges Royce C. Lamberth, who during the Clinton administration found that “Slick Willy” had committed a crime, and Richard J. Leon, who is about to again enjoin President Obama and his NSA from illegal mass surveillance on the entire citizenry, it is now a quaint notion that our courts can be trusted to enforce the law and fulfill every judge’s oath to support and defend the Constitution.

The legal notion of standing is a key part of the decay. The Executive Branch has grown increasingly brazen in violating the law and the Constitution. For example, our so-called government, currently and generally represented by the “yes-men” of the Obama Justice Department in its Federal Programs Branch, then objects that no one can bring a lawsuit to challenge its illegal behavior.