• workerONE@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    What does “Congress demands harsher punishment” mean? Is there any legal force behind this?

    • IcePee@lemmy.beru.co
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      2 months ago

      At the level of individual acts congress has no legal power due to the separation of powers. However, congress is sovereign and has the absolute power to make, modify and discard any law it chooses to as long as it’s constitutional (and they can amend that). This kind of power means that they have extra judicial influence and threats have real weight.