Don't follow 'dark money' agendas: We must elect judges who respect judicial independence
If we want Kentuckians to have faith in the rule of law, judicial independence and integrity are imperative. Anything less will undermine the legitimacy of Kentucky’s Judicial Branch.
In Jefferson County, we’re very lucky – virtually all of our current judicial candidates have pledged to run their campaigns in a manner that respects the Kentucky Code of Judicial Conduct. However, elsewhere in the commonwealth, forces from outside our state are tearing at the fabric of our judicial system. We’re writing to encourage voters to reject these efforts that threaten our judiciary, and to also ask candidates across the state to commit to running campaigns that not only respect our rules of judicial conduct, but also recognize the critical importance of judicial impartiality.
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In 2015, John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, wrote in Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar, "Judges are not politicians, even when they come to the bench by way of the ballot. And a state’s decision to elect its judiciary does not compel it to treat judicial candidates like campaigners for political office.” And Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist Paper 78 that the “independence of the judges” is “requisite to guard the Constitution and the rights of individuals,” and is “an essential safeguard” in our democracy. It is absolutely necessary that judicial candidates remain impartial and take the high road while running for office. Anything less damages the role of an independent court.
The Preamble to the Kentucky Code of Judicial Conduct states:
[1.] An independent, fair, and impartial judiciary is indispensable to our system of justice. The United States and Kentucky legal systems are based upon the principle that an independent, impartial, and competent judiciary, composed of men and women of integrity, will interpret and apply the law that governs our society...
[2] Judges should maintain the dignity of judicial office at all times and avoid both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in their professional and personal lives. They should aspire at all times to conduct that ensures the greatest possible public confidence in their independence, impartiality, integrity, and competence.
Judicial independence, impartiality and integrity are the heart and soul of our judicial system. Kentucky voters and legislators long ago implemented protections to ensure that judges look at cases impartially. The legislature and our citizens voted on and ratified Section 117 of the Kentucky Constitution, which mandates that judges are to be elected on a non-partisan basis. Likewise, Section 123 of the Kentucky Constitution prohibits judges from “hold[ing] any office in any political party” while serving on the bench. The Kentucky Supreme Court has also adopted four canons of conduct which are intended to increase the public’s confidence in an independent judiciary.
Unfortunately, an outside spending group is taking deliberate steps to chip away at the protections we adopted in the Kentucky Constitution and Code of Judicial Conduct. Courier Journal reporters Joe Sonka and Deborah Yetter recently reported that an Illinois-based political action committee (PAC), inappropriately called Fair Courts America, made clear its intent to spend millions in so-called “dark money” on commercials to promote its preferred candidates in three Kentucky judicial races.
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What Fair Courts America is really doing is promoting its own agenda through inaccurate and misleading advertising intended to unjustifiably frighten and deceive voters. Fair Courts America and super PACs like it — from both ends of the political spectrum — do not want independent and unbiased judges who follow the law. They want judges who they can trust to follow their outsider political agenda, which is entirely antithetical to the concept of a fair and independent judiciary.
The courtroom is sacred. It should not be defiled or occupied as the result of millionaires and billionaires spending dark money through outside partisan PACs which hold our electoral process hostage. We urge voters not to let outside groups like Fair Courts America target our state and strip Kentucky of our independent judiciary. Now is time for voters to reject these efforts to destroy the foundations of our court system in the voting booth, in the legislature and in the court of public opinion.
Submitted by Seth Gladstein, President, Louisville Bar Association and the members of the LBA Judicial Integrity and Independence Committee: Chairperson H. Philip Grossman, LaQuasha Combs, Emily Craddock, Andy Downey, Elisabeth Gray, Abigale Rhodes Green, Calesia Henson, Samuel E T. Jones, Jennifer Kleier, Michael O’Connell, Leo Smith, Tom Wine, Ret. Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Barry Willett
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Election: Vote for judges who respect judicial independence
