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Saturday, July 11, 2009
Ind. Decisions - "Survey OK for judicial candidates; care urged"
Reporting on federal Judge Theresa Springmann's decision July 8th in the case of Torrey Bauer, et al. v. Randall T. Shepard, et al. (ILB summary here), Rebecca S. Green writes today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:
A federal judge has ruled that candidates for judicial office in Indiana may fill out questionnaires, such as those distributed by Indiana Right to Life, but they must be careful.The story continues:In a 73-page ruling issued this week, U.S. District Judge Theresa Springmann in Fort Wayne said the recently updated rules governing the behavior of Indiana’s judges strike the right balance between the judges’ right to free speech and Hoosiers’ right to a fair and impartial judiciary.
“In this case, the free speech and association rights of judges and judicial candidates … bump into the interests of the people of Indiana in having a judiciary that is independent, fair, impartial and competent,” Springmann wrote.
“It is apparent … that the Indiana Supreme Court expects judges and judicial candidates to exercise good judgment and act judiciously when they make statements in office or campaign for office. This is not unreasonable.”
In May 2008, Indiana Right to Life, ... along with Warsaw lawyer Torrey Bauer and Marion County Superior Court Judge David Certo, sued again. The group asked for a judge to bar enforcement of the judicial canons against those who had answered a questionnaire sent out by the anti-abortion group and feared they would be disciplined by the state’s judicial commissions.The plaintiffs also challenged the constitutionality of the rules on judicial candidates stating political views.
While that lawsuit was pending, the Indiana Supreme Court adopted a new code of conduct, which came into effect in January, modeled after a 2007 code developed by the American Bar Association. And it changed some of the rules about candidate speech.
Springmann dismissed the portion of the lawsuit relating to the old rules and ruled in favor of the state’s highest court in the other parts of the complaint.
The new rules, Springmann wrote, are narrowly tailored to serve fairness, impartiality and integrity as well as principles of justice and the rule of law.
“(O)nly speech that is inconsistent with impartiality is prohibited in the 2009 Code,” Springmann wrote.
The ruling is the first of its kind in the nation to examine the new American Bar Association codes, said George T. Patton Jr., the Washington, D.C., attorney hired by the state of Indiana.
The new rules allow judicial candidates to say they are against abortion or will be tough on crime as long as they do not promise to always rule a certain way, Patton said.
“Imagine yourself before a judge who promised to always rule one way before he ever heard your case,” he said. “People need to remember that … what’s really at stake here is the nature of the judiciary here in Indiana.”
And state officials are obviously pleased.
“Our view is that this lawsuit is about reasonable efforts to maintain judicial independence,” Indiana Solicitor General Tom Fisher said. “The canons are crucial to maintaining judicial integrity, and we’re grateful she upheld them.”
Attempts to reach the plaintiffs’ Terre Hauteattorney, James Bopp, were unsuccessful Friday.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 11, 2009 04:34 PM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions