South Dakota's Amendment E would take care of that. But don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen. It's a wild idea. <g>
What is Amendment E?
Last summer and fall, some 46,800 South Dakotans signed the Judicial Accountability Amendment petition. You may have been one of them. If so, thank you for helping to get the Amendment on the November 2006 ballot as Amendment E!
Basically what Amendment E will do is create a "citizen's oversight committee" with the sole purpose of hearing complaints against judges alleging judicial misconduct.
Right now, there is no effective way to hold a judge accountable should he violate a person's rights in "his" courtroom. Amendment E will change that. A Judge SHOULD be accountable should he violate a person's rights, either on purpose or even by mistake. And in case you think that holding a judge accountable for mistakes is a bit harsh, please keep in mind that you and I are held accountable for our mistakes. (If you accidentally sideswipe someone's car, you will be held accountable!)
By now most of you have heard or read something about Amendment E, the Judicial Accountability Amendment. Probably what you have heard was negative.
Holding judges accountable when they violate a person's rights in court seems to bother some people, mainly judges, lawyers and other government connected people. Why?
The SD State legislature, the State Bar, most attorneys, and the special interest lobbyists are all having fits over Amendment E. It seems that a lot of people working for or with government, from the Governor all the way down to the county commissions and even school boards have come out against Amendment E. People in government just don't seem to want to be held accountable!
Well, we have heard their reasons for opposing judicial accountability, and we consider those reasons to be pretty lame. Accountability is nothing to fear. Accountability is the American Way.
I hope that you agree that Judges should not be above the law and that judges should be held accountable when they violate a person's rights in court. It's just common sense to most of us!
southdakotajudicialaccountability.com |
