BluegrassBulletin.com

Endorsements: Circuit Court Judge

When it comes to picking judges I have an admittedly dogmatic approach.  Unlike most other political races a judicial race shouldn't be about popularity, political connections, how big your family is, or the phony made up phrase "judicial experience".  I can assure you, most of the time Circuit Court judges are engaged in mundane, repetitive recitations of constitutional rights to criminal defendants and the busy work of scheduling hearings and trials that everybody knows will never take place.  But every so often an issue arises which touches upon the God given rights we all have to life and liberty and property.  Every so often in the midst of an otherwise mundane day on the bench an insightful judge will discern that what he/she is about to do will have a great impact.  In my way of thinking this requires a special kind of person.

Courts are the last refuge for liberty.  Courts are a sanctuary for freedom.  Our founders were brilliant.  They determined and memorialized in our Constitution that no law can ever be enforced, no life ever taken, no liberty deprived no property redistributed unless a jury of people from the very community where the controversy is being debated says so.  There is really no power in our nation greater than that held in the hands of jurors on any given day, and presiding over those proceedings, providing adequate protection for those jurors to exercise that power and giving them a clear path to do it, is a trial judge.

So, when I talk about the importance of selecting judges, I hope you understand where I am coming from.

Kenton County:

Judge Marty Sheehan is retiring.  His seat will be filled by either Bob Winter, Kathy Lape, Kate Molloy, Jason Hiltz or Jim Redwine.  While you can only vote for one of them, the top two vote getters will run again in November.

All judicial candidates must be lawyers.  All must have at least 5 years experience.  All must take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.  That's all the law requires other than residency.

But for me the choice requires a closer examination.  It's not about electing prosecutors, which is where Redwine and Hiltz get their experience.

It's not about electing people solely because of party affiliation or their name or their political philosophy, things that might to most observers be what the others seem to have going for them.

It's about electing judges who know how and what they do will affect real people, in their real lives.  It's about life experience, not judicial experience, prosecutorial experience or trial experience.  Judges need to be fair and that requires a special kindness, a special combination of temperament, empathy and most importantly of all, a dedication to not let cynicism or court house politics seduce you away from keeping your eye on the Constitution.

I know each of the candidate.  Some I've known longer than others, some on different levels than others and yet I think I have looked into their hearts to see what kind of judge they will be.  And after all of this there is one clear choice.  Kathy Lape.

She is not a court house crony.  She isn't jaded by years in the trenches advocating one side of the debate.  She hasn't developed the jaded views that regulars in many legal circles have that causes them to treat other people's most serious matters in a cavalier manner.  She is a real person, her husband a caring physician and her family upbringing instilled in her a sense of community that she has never left behind.

It would be an honor, to call her "your honor" and a great leap forward for the people of Kenton County to replace on very good judge with one destined to be even better.  Kathy Lape should be your choice.

Boone County:

Tony Frohlic is retiring and Rick Brueggemann, Marcia Thomas, Ed Drennan and Howard Tankersley are on the ballot.  One stands out heads and shoulders above the rest.  Rick Brueggemann.

Rick is such a great choice that I am hard pressed to say enough good things about him.  In few other races have I ever seen a candidate who I would trust with the Constitution as much as I would Rick.  I doubt there will be a single day in his entire service on the bench where upholding his oath will not be the most important goal he strives for.

I have no doubt that his love of and dedication to his family, and his faith, will inspire each and every one of his decisions.

I am uplifted by the chance to have a judge on the bench who truly pulled himself up from a disadvantaged beginning to attend law school, become a lawyer and to have stood firm in defense of the Constitution time and time again.  His ability to have empathy for the real people over whose lives and liberties his job will call upon him to adjudicate is the kind of special quality which must be advanced.

I will admit that Rick and I have not always seen eye to eye on all issues.  I will also admit that on a political scorecard some would suggest that I shouldn't do anything to help a guy who helped my opponents.  But once again, these choices are too important for petty political paybacks.  The choice of the next judge in Boone County is too important to too many people for me to refuse to stand up and say that Rick Brueggemann is a man of character, poise, grace, faith, intellect, compassion and principle who is clearly the best choice in this field.

I could not more enthusiastically endorse him.

Sausage Making At The Kentucky Bar Convention

It's that time again for the Kentucky Supreme Court to stand before the membership of the Bar Association and invite comments from the practitioners regarding changes to the rules of court that get no other public airing before acquiring the force of law in the Commonwealth.

Unlike the legislative branch where "the people" have input, what happens here could perhaps be described as "sausage making", a process which rarely involves the ultimate consumer.

While the process is open to lawyer comments only the very few who pay attention ever address the topics from the floor. Some rules affect substantial rights such as the rights of voters to ask questions of candidates in judicial elections while others deal with matters of less public concern like correcting paragraph references.

It's the opening session. Stay tuned. Nothing less than "Preserving Justice" is at stake this week.

Posted from my I-Pad with Blogsy

Female Jurists Split Over Abortion

Michelle Keller of Northern Kentucky was sworn in yesterday as the third woman on the Kentucky Supreme Court, a milestone receiving great attention.  But not all women jurists are of the same opinion when it comes to one of the most controversial issues on the "woman" front, abortion.

In early 2011 the Court of Appeals was faced with deciding whether a teenager from another state could travel to Kentucky and obtain an abortion without her parent's knowledge.  While the decison is reported to be sealed, the 2-1 ruling in favor of such a practice has been made public.

Voting in favor of the procedure was newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Michelle Keller.  But highly critical of the ruling was then Judge Keller's colleague on the Court of Appeals, Judge Joy Moore.

Chief Judge Jeff Taylor of Owensboro and Judge Michelle Keller of Covington were in the majority and they admitted to the judge shopping that concerns McClusky.

But they said Kentucky’s law makes it so “every minor” gets the bypass and that the law does not place any limits on it to Kentucky residents only.

Judge Joy Moore of Burlington said Kentucky judges have no “business making any decisions regarding a minor from another state seeking an abortion without parental consent.”

She cited as her basis for rejecting the claims that Kentucky’s abortion laws say “it is in the interest of the people of the commonwealth that every precaution be taken to insure the protection of every viable unborn child being aborted.” [Life News]

Judges and Justices are expected to make their rulings based upon their interpretation of the law and not personal bias.  But it is very clear that even when attempting to rise to that level of fairness differences of opinion do arise. 

At this time no one has announced plans to challenge Keller when the seat to which she has just been appointed will appear on the ballot next year.  The filing deadline isn't until January.

Related articles

Jury split on 2 counts in trial of abortion doctor Gosnell

Dictatorial? Due Process In Court Ignored By Obama

For those of you who feel safe in knowing that the courts system in the United States guarantees you the right to due process, the assistance of competent counsel, the right to appeal and other protections, you should feel safe no longer.  One man won his case in court but Obama's TSA found another way to get him.

The TSA has long appeared to chafe at the notion of an agency dependent on Congress or the public for its authority. That appears the message being sent to John E. Brennan. You may recall Brennan from a story last year when he stripped in the Portland International Airport in protest of increasing invasive TSA security measures. He was cleared by a judge who found his stripping was a form of protest. However, the TSA was clearly miffed by decision of the judge, so Brennan was pulled into the administrative abyss by TSA with an agency charge. It appears that, if the law will not punish a citizen, TSA will.

Agency fines and charges place citizens into a system that is heavily weighted in favor of the agency and denies basic due process protections found in courts. After the judge threw out the charge against Brennan, 50, the TSA got one of its administrative judges to fine him $1,000 for violating a federal rule stating passengers may not “interfere with, assault, threaten, or intimidate” TSA screeners. You may ask how stripping is an act of interference or assault or threat or intimidation. It does not matter. Once in the administrative process, the agency gets a huge degree of deference in determining violations with judges who are dependent on the agency for the very jurisdiction of their “court.” [Turley]

So now how do you feel about the safety and security provided to you by the due process clause of the Constitution?  Yeah, thought so.

How We Have Learned To Hate

A family in Burkesville Kentucky is devastated. They are overcome with grief. Their two year old daughter died accidentally. Their five year old son accidentally shot his sister. Clearly, that boy's life will be ruined by comparison to what it would have been. But things get worse.

Now some in the public are calling for the parents to be prosecuted. Can you imagine the pain they are going through? By all accounts they are an ordinary family, parents who loved their children. My God, what more punishment do people lust after?

But their are those who would delight in abusing this family for their own selfish purposes.

How many children are responsible for fires, falls, poisonings, electrocutions? Accidents happen, children are capable of accidents and the law makes it very clear that a five year old is incapable of being held legally responsible for his actions.

But people are calling for the parents heads. Why? Because a gun was involved. Not matches, cleaning solution, or a blow drier and bath water but a firearm.

And because some people will do and say anything to cause others to hate firearms as much as they do, those people will abandon their humanity, harden their hearts against compassion, refuse to reach out to that boy and his parents with love but instead use this tragedy as a chance to teach others to hate.

And that is how hatred is taught: one bite of the apple at a time.

Posted from my I-Pad with Blogsy

Lawsuit Tests TEA Party Principles

Several citizens active in the Northern Kentucky TEA party movement took the unusually step of asking the federal government to tell the state government what to do. With the help of attorneys Chris Wiest and Rick Brueggmann they filed suit against Governor Beshear and other officials over the Kentucky legislature's failure to reach agreement on re-districting.

Joining forces as Plaintiffs in the case are former political foes Judge Executive Gary Moore and recent State representative candidate Cathy Flaig who challenged Moore in the last primary for Boone County's top political spot.

Also stepping up to serve as plaintiff is Phyllis Sparks who was instrumental in Thomas Massie's campaign and is expected to run for Boone fiscal court next year.

In the Warren Court era two cases which were very tough decisions to reach nevertheless ruled that the "one man, one vote" requirement of the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment meant that the failure of states to guarantee equal representation when population changes occur presented a "justifiable issue" appropriate for federal intervention.

The first case to reach this conclusion was Baker v. Carr in 1962. Then in 1964 the court decided Reynolds v. Sims where Chief Justice Warren wrote "Legislators represent people, not trees or acres. Legislators are elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests."

The challenge presented in the suit filed against Kentucky officials will be to avoid what prior to the Baker and Reynolds cases used to be called a "purely political question". Plaintiffs have alleged that the Kentucky officials did not finish re-districting in order to keep their offices. While ill motive is not a prerequisite Plaintiffs have nevertheless fired that shot.

The suit also alleges that the Kentucky officials have violated the Plaintiffs Constitutional rights and seeks money damages which will be difficult to collect. Government officials enjoy various immunities for discretionary actions in their official capacity and it will be interesting to see how the court treats the suit against Governor Beshear, Attorney General Jack Conway and Secretary of State Alison Grimes when the failure to complete re-districting was, as Plaintiffs allege, due to the inability of the legislature to agree on a plan.

In any event one thing should be clear, when the rest of government doesn't work one hopes there are judges in place who can be trusted to take courageous stands in defense of the Constitution.

Posted with Blogsy