Litigation

JAS Warns Against Impeachment Talk

By Peter Hardin

“Political threats don?t belong in America?s courtrooms,” Bert Brandenburg, the executive director of the Justice at Stake Campaign, said today as he cautioned against talk of impeaching Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. (photo at right), told the Huffington Post he was investigating articles of impeachment against the chief justice (photo at left). Here is an excerpt from DeFazio:

“The Supreme Court has ? done more to undermine our democracy with their Citizens United decision than all of the Republican operatives in the world in this campaign.

“They’ve opened the floodgates, and personally, I’m investigating articles of impeachment against Justice Roberts for perjuring during his Senate hearings, where he said he wouldn’t be a judicial activist, and he wouldn’t overturn precedents.?

But Brandenburg, in a statement issued by JAS, “politically motivated attacks on judges and threats to impeach judges based on their decisions are wrong, whether they come from the right or the left.”

Justice at Stake is a nonpartisan national partnership working to keep our courts fair, impartial and free from special-interest and partisan agendas. JAS filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court’s Citizens United case, and publicly stated its disappointment with the court’s eventual decision.

But Brandenburg said impeachment threats over specific court rulings are inappropriate:

“For two centuries, Congress has wisely resisted calls for impeachments on political grounds.

“Almost every American, liberal and conservative, has been angered by particular legal rulings, but that?s because we ask courts to settle tough legal disputes. It is reckless to threaten judges with ouster simply because we don?t like a particular decision.”

Earlier this month, Justice at Stake criticized an Iowa congressman, Republican Rep. Steve King, for urging the ousters of ?lawless judges? following a court order striking down the military?s ?don?t ask, don?t tell? ban on gay military personnel (See Gavel Grab).

Full post as published by The Gavel on October 27, 2010 (boomark / email).