[Mb-civic] Los Angeles Times Editorial - The War on Judges

[George R. Milman]

EDITORIAL


The War on Judges



April 10, 2005

Just when we'd think the ethically bloodied House majority leader, Tom
DeLay, would try to lower his profile, he's intensifying a crusade (in every
sense of the word) for congressional control over the judicial branch of
government. If it were just DeLay, the effort wouldn't seem so serious. But
he has powerful company in Congress.

"Judicial independence does not equal judicial supremacy," DeLay (R-Texas)
said Thursday. Congress, instead of just complaining about federal courts
that "run amok" in defending the right to abortion and banning school
prayer, must set limits and "make sure the judges administer their
responsibilities," he said, according to a report Friday in the New York
Times.

He spoke by video to a conference titled "Confronting the Judicial War on
Faith." Its sponsor was the Traditional Values Coalition, social-issue
reactionaries who back legislation to restrict federal courts from ruling on
anything involving God or basing any rulings on the precedents of foreign
courts (for instance, in death penalty cases). Its so-called Constitutional
Restoration Act is sponsored in Congress by Sens. Richard C. Shelby
(R-Ala.), Zell Miller (D-Ga.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Lindsey Graham
(R-S.C.), and Reps. Robert B. Aderholt (R-Ala.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.).

DeLay had previously threatened individual retaliation against the judges
who resisted his anti-constitutional efforts to push the Terri Schiavo
feeding tube case into the federal courts.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) went completely over the edge last week,
appearing to justify recent violence against judges by noting that
frustration against perceived "political decisions" by judges "builds up and
builds up to the point where some people engage in violence." His
dangerously absurd assertion ignores the fact that the recent attacks came
from individuals angry at judges they appeared before, not political
opponents.

Some Republicans, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), have distanced themselves from these comments,
albeit belatedly. A better demonstration of their distaste for this
incendiary rhetoric would be to oppose the still-pending punitive bills.

Judicial independence is one of this nation's distinguishing traits and a
hallmark of our constitutional scheme. To endure, our democracy requires
that legislators respect the independence of the judiciary, even when it
comes to decisions they don't like.

Judges from across California planned to gather tonight at downtown's
Millennium Biltmore Hotel for the 100th anniversary of the state's appellate
courts. What they celebrate is the separation of powers that DeLay and
friends want to smash.

In 1904, when a state referendum created the Courts of Appeal, voters had
the good sense to insulate judges from potential demagogues. But the attacks
on the federal courts, and on the independence of all judges, may have
tonight's celebrants wondering if state courts will last intact for another
100 years. 

 

Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times 

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