Since the Iowa Supremes said the state must provide for gay marriage the anti-gay crowd has been pushing to vote the pro-gay justices out of office. One small problem -- the justices are appointed, not elected, to set terms. The argument by the anti-gay activists is that because justices are appointed they are "unaccountable to the people." Judges should run a campaign, with partisan wrangling and empty campaign promises, just like any other politician.
We in Michigan know how well that works. My home state is tagged as one with a highly dysfunctional supreme court that is hyperpartisan in its rulings.
This week the Iowa State Bar Association will host a panel to discuss the process and retired Supreme Sandra Day O'Connor will participate. She'll call for a merit system, not an election system, for all state supreme courts. One branch of the government should be free from the whim of the latest political trend, deep pocket contributors, mob rule, and tyranny of the majority.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment