The NY Times today has a story titled "More Brooklyn Officials Calling for Changes in Selecting Judges." Access the story here. As the Times reports, this results from "the recent arraignment of a State Supreme Court judge on charges of bribery." (Access our coverage of the initial, 4/25/03 arraignment stories here; unfortunately, as more than a week has passed, the links to the NYT stories -- but not the Newsday story -- now lead to summaries and "pay for view" opportunities rather than directly to the stories quoted.) As reported in today's Times story:
Various changes have been suggested, including direct elections of judges without party intervention, having judges appointed by the governor, or placing the recommendations for judgeships in the hands of academics, bar associations and civic groups. Some of the suggested changes could be accomplished by a vote of the Democratic Party leadership in Brooklyn. Others, however, could be accomplished only by legislation passed in Albany. The calls for changes are becoming far more widespread and have expanded beyond the officials who are considered part of the borough's reform movement. "A year ago, many people embraced the idea of reform, but felt that it would never happen," said City Councilman David Yassky, a Democrat who was a professor at Brooklyn Law School before being elected to the Council in 2001. "But now, there are more people who feel the time has come and that something can be done now."Allegations of corruption have also led to talk of reform in Mississippi. This story published Monday in The Clarion-Ledger, begins:
The Mississippi Supreme Court's chief justice says changes are needed to restore faith in the state's courts, which have been damaged by a string of allegations of judicial misconduct. Chief Justice Ed Pittman's plans for reform: Switch from elected to appointed judges in the higher courts, allow cameras in the courtrooms, impose stricter codes of conduct and establish a review system if a judge refuses to recuse himself when there is a potential conflict of interest. The majority of this court recognizes that we need to make some changes," Pittman said. "We are on the road to total recovery and absolute total neutral service to the people of this state."Another Clarion-Ledger story details a "tradition of impropriety" in the history of Mississippi Supreme Court justices. (Access the story here.) For instance:
Retired state Supreme Court Justice Stokes Robertson of Jackson, now 90, who served on the court from 1966-82, said it's true a few judges over the history of the court have been known to imbibe. He recalled a story of one long ago chief justice who had gotten intoxicated: Confronted with his drinking, the justice replied that "the difference between him and an ordinary drunk was that in the morning, he would still be chief justice."For much more on the New York court issues, the Village Voice has this story and this story. A quote:
Judicial appointments are one of the last strongholds of patronage in New York. Thanks to inter-party cooperation between Democrats and Republicans who divide the available judgeships between them and then cross-designate each other's candidates, the positions amount to virtual lifetime sinecures. In addition there are hundreds of clerks and law secretaries to be selected, posts with similar levels of job security and benefits. It is because of these basic political facts of life that no serious effort has ever been made to reform the way the state's top judges are selected.And for more on Mississippi, recall our entry from 4/16/03 about a Mississippi county suing the state because it is too poor to provide defense counsel to indigents. Here is another story, dated 5/5/03, from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
In this endless flatland of rich soil and poor people, Robert Simon and Anthony Carr murdered an entire family and almost buried a county. * * * The two men ripped the heart out of this Mississippi Delta community one night in 1990 when they killed four members of the Parker family who had returned to their trailer from Bible study. Then, Simon and Carr, who ended up on death row, made Quitman County pay for their legal defense. Quitman County spent more to defend Simon and Carr than most people here earn in a decade. To help pay the legal bills, the county raised taxes three consecutive years and took out a $150,000 bank loan that took another three years to repay. * * *Posted by Marcia Oddi at May 7, 2003 08:03 AMIn what could be a landmark lawsuit, Quitman County is asking a judge to order Mississippi to set up and fund a statewide public defender system. "If the Legislature doesn't take care of its business, it becomes the business of the court," Rob McDuff, a lawyer from Jackson, said in opening statements last week. "At so many critical times in this state and across the nation, courts have had to step in and enforce the law. We believe that this is now one of those critical times." * * * McDuff is assisted by four lawyers and two paralegals from the prestigious Washington law firm Arnold & Porter. Forty years ago, a member of that firm, Abe Fortas, represented indigent drifter Clarence Earl Gideon before the U.S. Supreme Court. Gideon, accused of breaking and entering, was left to defend himself in a Florida court after a judge refused to appoint a lawyer to represent him, saying the state had to do so only in capital cases. Gideon was convicted, and his appeal reached the U.S. Supreme Court.