Changes

[[File:AndrewNapolitano.jpg|250px|right]]'''Andrew P. Napolitano''' or '''Judge Napolitano''' (born 6 June 1950) is a former [[New Jersey]] Superior Court Judge and adjunct [[professor]] of [[constitutional law]] and now an author, a lecturer, and a [[television]] personality.<ref name=judgenap>Napolitano A, "[http://www.judgenap.com/judge.shtml About the Judge]," ''Judge Andrew Napolitano: The Constitution in Exile,'' accessed 18 September 2009.</ref> His chief claim to fame is his consistent advocacy of strict construction of the [[United States Constitution]] and his opposition to all politicians, regardless of their stated intentions, who ignore or flout the Constitution in their exercise of [[statecraft]]. He has become a [[NeverTrumper]] who has sided with the Left on matters related to U.S. President [[Donald Trump]].<ref>Bauder, David (November 11, 2019). [https://apnews.com/52b6a16fa159457b907cc90c4846d6a0 Fox legal analyst Napolitano emerges as Trump critic]. ''Associated Press''. Retrieved November 11, 2019.</ref>

[[File:AndrewNapolitano.jpg|250px|right]]'''Andrew P. Napolitano''' or '''Judge Napolitano''' (born 6 June 1950) is a former [[New Jersey]] Superior Court Judge and adjunct [[professor]] of [[constitutional law]] and now an author, a lecturer, and a [[television]] personality.<ref name=judgenap>Napolitano A, "[http://www.judgenap.com/judge.shtml About the Judge]," ''Judge Andrew Napolitano: The Constitution in Exile,'' accessed 18 September 2009.</ref> His chief claim to fame is his consistent advocacy of strict construction of the [[United States Constitution]] and his opposition to all politicians, regardless of their stated intentions, who ignore or flout the Constitution in their exercise of [[statecraft]]. He has become a [[NeverTrumper]] who has sided with the Left on matters related to U.S. President [[Donald Trump]].<ref>Bauder, David (November 11, 2019). [https://apnews.com/52b6a16fa159457b907cc90c4846d6a0 Fox legal analyst Napolitano emerges as Trump critic]. ''Associated Press''. Retrieved November 11, 2019.</ref>

Napolitano is currently the host of ''Freedom Watch'' on the [[Fox Business Network]] and an analyst for [[Fox News]]. He is a strong [[libertarian]], supporter of the [[United States Constitution]], close associate of [[Glenn Beck]], and a supporter of [[Ron Paul]].

Napolitano is currently the host of ''Freedom Watch'' on the [[Fox Business Network]] and an analyst for [[Fox News]]. He is a strong [[libertarian]] supporter of the [[United States Constitution]], close associate of [[Glenn Beck]], and a supporter of [[Ron Paul]].

 

== Education ==

== Education ==

Andrew Napolitano was born on 6 June 1950 in [[Newark]], [[New Jersey]]. He earned his undergraduate degree from [[Princeton University]] in 1972 and his degree of ''Jurisprudentiae Doctor'' from [[Notre Dame University]] School of Law in 1975.

Andrew Napolitano was born on 6 June 1950 in [[Newark]], [[New Jersey]]. He earned his undergraduate degree from [[Princeton University]] in 1972 and his degree of ''Jurisprudentiae Doctor'' from [[Notre Dame University]] School of Law in 1975.

In two separate and extensive interviews with staff writers at ''Reason'' Magazine,<ref name=gillespie/><ref name=doherty>Doherty B, "[http://www.reason.com/news/show/123496.html Americans: Sheep to the Constitutional Slaughter]?" ''Reason'', 15 November 2007. Accessed 18 September 2009.</ref> Judge Napolitano has described his views on civil liberty and the abuse of governmental power, and how his own personal attitudes changed markedly from those he once held while at Princeton. As he explained to ''Reason'' writer Nick Gillespie, eight years of trying criminal and other cases in New Jersey's Superior Court first made him aware that many law-enforcement agents stretch the truth while testifying.<ref name=gillespie/> This, and his consistent reverence for the Constitution and his relentless application of logic, led him to conclude that governments under both [[Republican Party|Republican]] and [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] administrations have been slowly accumulating a degree of power that he finds inconsistent with individual liberty. He dates this acquisition of power to 1932, the year of the election of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] as [[President of the United States]], and accuses Roosevelt of promulgating a doctrine of ''legal positivism'' or ''legal realism'', by which "the law is whatever the lawgiver says it is," any time the lawgiver says it.

In two separate and extensive interviews with staff writers at ''Reason'' Magazine,<ref name=gillespie/><ref name=doherty>Doherty B, "[http://www.reason.com/news/show/123496.html Americans: Sheep to the Constitutional Slaughter]?" ''Reason'', 15 November 2007. Accessed 18 September 2009.</ref> Judge Napolitano has described his views on civil liberty and the abuse of governmental power, and how his own personal attitudes changed markedly from those he once held while at Princeton. As he explained to ''Reason'' writer Nick Gillespie, eight years of trying criminal and other cases in New Jersey's Superior Court first made him aware that many law-enforcement agents stretch the truth while testifying.<ref name=gillespie/> This, and his consistent reverence for the Constitution and his relentless application of logic, led him to conclude that governments under both [[Republican Party|Republican]] and [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] administrations have been slowly accumulating a degree of power that he finds inconsistent with individual liberty. He dates this acquisition of power to 1932, the year of the election of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] as [[President of the United States]], and accuses Roosevelt of promulgating a doctrine of ''legal positivism'' or ''legal realism'', by which "the law is whatever the lawgiver says it is," any time the lawgiver says it.

In contrast, Napolitano prefers [[Natural Law]], which states that rights come from [[God]], Who, as the Most Free Person in existence, has instilled in all of mankind a yearning to be free. Napolitano cites the [[Declaration of Independence]] and other works by [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]] as his principal authorities.

In contrast, Napolitano prefers [[Natural Law]], which states that rights come from [[God]], who, as the Most Free Person in existence, has instilled in all of mankind a yearning to be free. Napolitano cites the [[Declaration of Independence]] and other works by [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]] as his principal authorities.

=== Practical application ===

=== Practical application ===

While at the Fox News Channel, Andrew Napolitano quickly earned a reputation as the sole voice of caution, and even of alarm, concerning the conduct by the [[George W. Bush]] administration of the [[War on Terror]]. He repeatedly warned his colleagues that the [[Patriot Act|USA-PATRIOT Act]] violated the [[First Amendment]] and the [[Fourth Amendment]] to the Constitution. In his interviews with Gillespie and Doherty at ''Reason'' he pointed to several very little-known provisions in that Act that, he says, are reminiscent of the "writs of assistance" that British officers during the reign of [[George III]] routinely wrote to justify unreasonable searches and seizures.<ref name=gillespie/><ref name=doherty/> He also charges that the Patriot Act was one of many bills that Congress essentially passed without reading, and that its hurried passage set a precedent that [[Barack Obama]] attempted to copy.

While at the Fox News Channel, Andrew Napolitano quickly earned a reputation as the sole voice of caution, and even of alarm, concerning the conduct by the [[George W. Bush]] administration of the [[War on Terror]]. He repeatedly warned his colleagues that the [[Patriot Act|USA-PATRIOT Act]] violated the [[First Amendment]] and the [[Fourth Amendment]] to the Constitution. In his interviews with Gillespie and Doherty at ''Reason'' he pointed to several very little-known provisions in that Act that, he says, are reminiscent of the "writs of assistance" that British officers during the reign of [[George III]] routinely wrote to justify unreasonable searches and seizures.<ref name=gillespie/><ref name=doherty/> He also charges that the Patriot Act was one of many bills that Congress essentially passed without reading, and that its hurried passage set a precedent that [[Barack Obama]] attempted to copy.

Many of Napolitano's detractors have accused him of being a willing apologist for the Bush administration, especially since he has become an outspoken and relentless critic of the [[Obama Administration]]. But his record, and his interviews at ''Reason'' that he granted long before anyone even imagined that [[Barack Obama]] would in fact be elected President, clearly demonstrate otherwise. Napolitano's profile at the Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network has certainly heightened significantly in the last year, with semi-regular appearances on programs hosted by [[Neil Cavuto]] and [[Glenn Beck]] (and even appearances as a replacement host for the latter). But in fact that heightening of his profile dates, not from the promulgation of Barack Obama's legislative agenda, nor his inauguration, nor even his election, but from the promulgation of the [[Troubled Asset Relief Program]] in October 2008,a piece of legislation upon which Napolitano has poured the utmost contempt, a month ''before'' the election.

Many of Napolitano's detractors have accused him of being a willing apologist for the Bush administration, especially since he has become an outspoken and relentless critic of the [[Obama Administration]]. But his record, and his interviews at ''Reason'' that he granted long before anyone even imagined that [[Barack Obama]] would in fact be elected President, clearly demonstrate otherwise. Napolitano's profile at the Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network has certainly heightened significantly in the last year, with semi-regular appearances on programs hosted by [[Neil Cavuto]] and [[Glenn Beck]] (and even appearances as a replacement host for the latter). But in fact that heightening of his profile dates, not from the promulgation of Barack Obama's legislative agenda, nor his inauguration, nor even his election, but from the promulgation of the [[Troubled Asset Relief Program]] in October 2008, a piece of legislation upon which Napolitano has poured the utmost contempt, a month ''before'' the election.

=== Placement in political spectrum ===

=== Placement in political spectrum ===

That said, he is a consistent defender of the basic right of an individual to keep and bear arms, as stated in the [[Second Amendment]]. He is opposed to all forms of what is commonly called "regulation" today, whether of commerce or of personal activity. He interprets the Constitution's directive to [[United States Congress|Congress]] to "regulate interstate commerce" in what he asserts is the intended meaning: ''to make such commerce more regular'' by setting uniform standards to which all States must adhere.

That said, he is a consistent defender of the basic right of an individual to keep and bear arms, as stated in the [[Second Amendment]]. He is opposed to all forms of what is commonly called "regulation" today, whether of commerce or of personal activity. He interprets the Constitution's directive to [[United States Congress|Congress]] to "regulate interstate commerce" in what he asserts is the intended meaning: ''to make such commerce more regular'' by setting uniform standards to which all States must adhere.

On one issue some libertarians might find him inconsistent, and that is the issue of abortion. As he stated to Nick Gillespie of ''Reason'', he believes that abortion is a form of [[murder]], and he would prosecute any abortion ''provider'' on a charge of murder in the first degree. By way of explanation, he states that a child, even unborn, has the same basic right to life as has any adult, and he finds no basis for denying to an unborn child the same rights and protections under the law as any born child or adult would enjoy.<ref name=gillespie/> That said, he would not be in favor of a Federal statute or Constiutional amemdnment prohibiting abortion, because murder, in any degree, is not and should not be a Federal matter. But he would overturn all [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] precedents that currently forbid a State to prosecute an abortion provider exactly as he suggests, and then leave to any State government the decision of whether to regard abortion as a lawful activity, or a [[misdemeanor]], or a [[felony]], even including murder.

On one issue some libertarians might find him inconsistent, and that is the issue of abortion. As he stated to Nick Gillespie of ''Reason'', he believes that abortion is a form of [[murder]], and he would prosecute any abortion ''provider'' on a charge of murder in the first degree. By way of explanation, he states that a child, even unborn, has the same basic right to life as has any adult, and he finds no basis for denying to an unborn child the same rights and protections under the law as any born child or adult would enjoy.<ref name=gillespie/> That said, he would not be in favor of a Federal statute or Constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion, because murder, in any degree, is not and should not be a Federal matter. But he would overturn all [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] precedents that currently forbid a State to prosecute an abortion provider exactly as he suggests, and then leave to any State government the decision of whether to regard abortion as a lawful activity, or a [[misdemeanor]], or a [[felony]], even including murder.

== Publications ==

== Publications ==