Mob Rule - Assault on the Courts, Are We Next?

One thing common to the fundamentalist, far-right movements is their utter contempt for our judicial systems, especially judges who, following the law, make decisions the social conservatives don't like.

In the U.S., the upcoming mid-term elections will see voters presented with a host of initiatives aimed directly at judicial independence.

The South Dakota initiative would enable citizens to sue judges over their rulings. There is a wide range of initiatives in various states; some call for term-limits, others for the ability to recall judges, still others providing for elected judges. The list goes on.

The far right portrays these iniatives as populist, democratic. Opponents see them as a direct assault on judicial independence and the undermining of America'system of checks and balances.

Electing judges is worse than horrible. It produces a bench beholden to their campaign contributors, always making rulings with an eye to the next election. That, in a word, is corruption of the judicial system. Introducing coersive measures such as recall or liability to law suits by losers completely undermines democracy.

Imagine how you much you would like to be in a court case in which the other side's lawyer was a big contributor to the judge's election campaigns. Imagine what it would be like to find yourself in litigation with an opponent renowned for suing judges who didn't go his way.

America has entered a dark and brutishy period and these initiatives are highly reflective of that. We Canadians would do well to pay attention before that same sort of thing begins happening here.