07/24/2007

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
NGA Administrative Coordinator Maxine Worthy rolls up state flags in the Governor’s Hall following the closing plenary session at the annual meeting of the National Governors Association at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.

A call for education

Partisan elections for judges called a 'ghastly' practice

By Vanessa McCray

vmccray@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor speaks Monday morning at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.

ACME — Former United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor called on state chiefs to rally around an eroding concept of judicial independence at a closing session of the National Governors Association.

It's key that courts are free to work impartially and without sway from other government branches, said O'Connor. And destroying that balance is "easier than most people imagine,” she said.

"The courts have the power to make the president or Congress or a governor or a state legislature really, really angry. In fact, if judges do not make them mad some of the time, they probably aren't doing their jobs,” said O'Connor. "Judges' effectiveness relies on the knowledge, I think, that they won't be subject to retaliation for their judicial acts.”

O'Connor, who retired from the court in 2006, was greeted with enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation from governors Monday at the final gathering of the four-day conference.

The justice nominated to the nation's highest court by President Ronald Reagan gave a speech punctuated with a few lines that drew laughs. But, O'Connor also made a sincere request of governors.

"The key to maintaining our system lies in the education of our citizens, and that is where you come in,” O'Connor said.

She called on states to beef up civics instruction in classrooms.

"We are not meeting the educational needs,” O'Connor said.

Recently, there have been efforts that undermine judicial independence, she said. That includes attempts to "strip” courts of jurisdiction in certain cases and proposals to impeach federal judges.

The way to combat those threats is through an educated electorate, O'Connor said.

A strong judiciary helps to guarantee freedom and security, a feat other branches alone "cannot guarantee,” said Thomas Phillips, retired chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas.

He joined O'Connor in encouraging governors to support the powers of the judicial branch. Judicial independence is "under threat,” he said. The judiciary has grown politicized as judges make more "controversial decisions” on divisive policy questions, Phillips said.

"As a result, political parties and interest groups are now more keenly interested in who sits on the bench than they have ever been before,” he said.

Phillips said vast sums of money are contributed to state judicial races and there's a "cottage industry” to rally or resist Supreme Court nominees.

Phillips and O'Connor opposed some states' practices of partisan elections for picking judges. O'Connor called it a "ghastly” selection method, and both argued for merit-based decisions.

There is "solid support for the three separate branches of government,” said South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds.

And, Gov. Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania echoed O'Connor's call for stronger civics curriculums, saying it's "tremendously worthwhile.” Such lessons should start with elementary school children, he said.