Litigation

JAS Op-Ed on Iowa in Washington Post

By Charlie Hall

The Washington Post today published an op-ed by JAS Executive Director Bert Brandenburg , on the looming impeachment crisis in Iowa. Some lawmakers in that state have vowed to oust four justices who joined a 7-0 opinion that struck down a ban on same-sex marriage.

In the op-ed, titled, “End this war on judges,” Brandenburg noted that no federal or state judge has been impeached for their judicial opinions since the earliest days of our nation, adding, “The debate may have started over same-sex marriage, but the specter of impeachment has transformed it in an assault on constitutional government.”

Brandenburg said, “Impeachment is reserved for serious misconduct,” and that impeaching judges for political reasons would paralyze government, undermine courts and even put state economies at risk.

There’s a reason this all sounds so radical. It’s been seriously tried only once in our nation’s history – in 1805, when Thomas Jefferson tried to oust Justice Samuel Chase, whose crime was that he belonged to the opposition Federalist Party. Senators across the political spectrum rejected the idea. Congress hasn’t tried it since, even though courts have made unpopular decisions on just about every imaginable controversial issue, including slavery, segregation, abortion, gun rights and presidential elections.

To see the full opinion column, click here. To learn more about the controversy in Iowa, click here.

Full post as published by The Gavel on January 07, 2011 (boomark / email).