« Ind. Court - "County records likely ruined in Madison fire" | Main | Courts - More on: President Obama's Indiana nominees David Hamilton and Dawn Johnsen remain in limbo »

Friday, May 22, 2009

Courts - "Should judges have a representative in the Cabinet? Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer seems to think so"

That is the lede to this brief story today by Jordan Weissmann of The National Law Journal. Some quotes:

The talk of a Cabinet post was prompted by an audience member who asked the panel about judicial pay raises -- or the recent lack thereof. Breyer pointed out that even though federal law provides a cost-of-living increase to sitting judges, Congress has consistently voted to cancel the pay hike. The problem isn't the law, he said, but the fact that judges -- even on the high court -- lack political clout.

"When I was on the Judiciary Committee in the staff, I received a phone call one day from Warren Burger, the chief justice of the United States," Breyer recalled. "And he spoke to me and asked me about a bill that was relevant. I thought after, Why is he calling me? And the reason is that no one else would talk to him."

Breyer argued that despite concerns about separation of powers, there should be "a person with political responsibility" in the Cabinet to express the judiciary's viewpoint directly to the president. He compared the position to that of lord chancellor in England.

Hinting at who might play that role, he said, "That is my secret reason for mentioning the Department of Justice every chance I get. Don't tell anyone."

The suggestion got an enthusiastic reception from the audience, which included a large group of high profile lawyers and judges. During the question-and-answer session, Randall Shepard, chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, offered that if Breyer would "tease out" the idea more, he would "undertake to recruit my fellow chief justices to pursue it further."

"Good offer. Accepted," Breyer said.

The article links to a webcast of the entire panel.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 22, 2009 09:08 AM
Posted to Courts in general