Litigation

Brandenburg: Examine Judge?s Whole Record

By Peter Hardin

“When should a judge be thrown out of office?”

Bert Brandenburg, executive director of the Justice at Stake Campaign, offers a quick voter’s guide to answering that question in a guest commentary for the Denver Post. His advice can best be summed up by the column’s headline, Look at the “whole record of judges before voting.”

In Colorado, a group called Clear the Bench is pressing for ouster of three state Supreme Court justices in retention elections next week. Clear the Bench is angry about court rulings it says will raise taxes. The ouster drive in Colorado is one of several that have catapulted typically quiet retention elections into a national spotlight (see Gavel Grab) amid concern they might no longer escape high spending by special interest groups.

In broad terms, Brandenburg addresses what happens if voters remove justices over unpopular rulings:

“The greatest danger of ousting justices over a single issue is that it could force courts to ignore important constitutional rights in the face of fluctuating political pressures.”

In fact, retention elections are meant to be an option for voters to remove a judge “in the rare instance that he or she is unfit for office,” Brandenburg explains. These include instances when a judge has taken bribes or committed other serious crimes, shown general incompetence or failed to reach decisions on time.

Brandenburg lists tools that voters can use to learn more about a judge’s training, experience, and performance. He concludes:

“Considering a judge’s entire record, using multiple sources of information, is the best long-term insurance to protect any state’s system of justice. Beliefs and attitudes change with the decades, but the need for an impartial court system does not

“If we undermine our courts, through one-issue, litmus test voting, the rights that get disregarded may someday turn out to be our own.”

You can check out a Justice at Stake voter’s guide to retention elections by clicking here.

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