The third branch of the federal government is now under assault by leaders of the other two. The assault is assisted, arguably led by, big corporations who want to end the right of citizens to their day in court, by putting up as many obstacles as possible,or by eliminating whole categories of opportunities for redress. The theocratic Christian Right also wants to eliminate whole areas of civil and constitutional law from the jurisdiction of the courts so that they can advance their religious and political agendas, and be able to trample on the rights of others, unhindered by the courts.

Americans are mobilizing on many fronts to defend their rights against encroachments by the powerful corporate and theocratic interests. One major effort is being organized by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice which has just announced their Access to Justice Campaign.

They note that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) is a leader in the effort to shut the court house doors to the vast majority of Americans. And one of his big bug-a-boos, is the entire area of separation of church and state . The former professional exterminator brings the same seriousness of purpose to his far right ideological agenda to eliminate those parts of the constitution and American history that don’t square with his extreme world view as he did in his earlier professional life.

“What I find the most important is to redesign the government,” DeLay told The Washington Times, (a pet project of Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church), “now that we have the opportunity to do that… [I]t’s been my own personal project to redesign government.” He said, “[W]e all know that this judiciary has been extremely active… The reason the judiciary has been able to impose a separation of church and state that’s nowhere in the Constitution is that Congress didn’t stop them. The reason we had judicial review is because Congress didn’t stop them. The reason we had a right to privacy is because Congress didn’t stop them.”

The Constitution states that”judges shall hold their offices during good behavior.” Says DeLay: “We want to define what good behavior means.” Unfortunately, what good behavior means to Tom DeLay, means doing whatever it is Tom DeLay wants you to do.

Arthur Bryant, executive director of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, has a different view.

“This is a unique time in our nation’s history,” Bryant wrote recently in the National Law Journal. “America was founded by people who understood that power unchecked is power abused. That’s why we have, among other things, separation of powers, the Bill of Rights and the right to a day in court.”

“Take a look around,” he continued. “Throughout America, corporate wrongdoers are being held liable for injuring, discriminating against and cheating their customers, employees and investors. What’s their solution to this problem? Eliminate access to the courts. They’re amending their consumer, employment and investors’ contracts explicitly to ban individual and class action litigation. They’re expanding federal pre-emption, the use of binding mandatory arbitration and court secrecy to preclude many suits and bury the rest.”

Similarly, Jeffrey M. Goldberg, president of the TLJP Foundation said in a press release announcing a new initiative, “Americans have separation of powers, the Bill of Rights, and the right to a day in court because our nation’s Founders valued freedom and liberty — and knew that power unchecked was power abused… In America, the courts are the one place where the poorest, most powerless person can hold the richest, most powerful people and corporations accountable. That’s why corporate wrongdoers and those in power are trying to eliminate the right to a day in court in so many ways and areas — and why we must keep the courthouse doors open for all.”

“Preserving access to justice at its core,” TLPJ states in its campaign announcement, “means upholding the Constitution, separation of powers, and the courts’ role in our nation. It shouldn’t be necessary, but it is… Some with power… don’t accept the courts’ role.”

TLPJ is going to do something about it. They have launched the Access to Justice Campaign to counter the attacks on the Constitutional role of the courts, to literally defend access to justice. “This is not a battle between plaintiffs and defendants, Democrats and Republicans, or red states and blue states” they say. “This is a battle between those who believe in the Constitution, separation of powers, and the courts’ role in our system and those who don’t.”

Here are some more details: “The Access to Justice Campaign will battle the wide-ranging efforts to bar people from using the courts — including the Bush Administration’s attempts to use the war on terror to preclude court access and review; unconstitutional legislation eliminating victims’ rights; denials of the right to counsel and jury trial; excessive secrecy designed to prevent individuals from enforcing their rights and others from learning their rights were violated; federal preemption improperly eliminating victims’ rights; corporate attempts to use form contracts to require consumers, employees, and investors to waive their rights, bar them from suing, and force them into mandatory arbitration; and class action bans and abuses that would preclude victims from using the courts to prevent or remedy wrongdoing. It will include extensive litigation, networking, and legal and public education.”

Part of the right-wing strategy for a generation has been to demonize lawyers. Now the far-right is demonizing the courts. TLPJ are the good guys. They are on the front line of defending not only our rights as citizens, as workers, and as consumers — but our very right to our day in court. What will they do? They are not a lobbying outfit. But they will “educate the public and the legal community about these dangers and develop the legal tools to defeat them nationwide.” Check out their web site. See the kinds of cases they take on in the public interest.

Big corporations violating your rights? Who ya gonna call?