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Nov. 15th, 2005 09:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ebonlockJust when you think the wingnuts can't get any nuttier:
...Activists are trying to put a radical measure on next year's ballot that could make South Dakota the first state to let people who believe their rights have been violated by judges put those judges on trial. Citizens could seek damages or criminal charges.
The measure would overturn more than a century of settled law in the United States by stripping judges of their absolute immunity from lawsuits over their judicial acts....
Legal experts warned that such a provision could dangerously undermine the independence of South Dakota's judiciary, plunge the court system into anarchy, and run afoul of the U.S. Constitution.
And they noted there are already remedies available to the public: Bad rulings can be overturned on appeal, and judges who break the rules can be punished by state disciplinary boards and, in South Dakota and other states, voted out of office....
Judicial immunity, the doctrine that says judges cannot be sued over their judicial acts, was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in an 1871 case....
If you're so inclined, check out their website, and you'll see just what kind of cases they feel the "activist judges" should be held accountable for:
Crime and no punishment
Deborah Robinson, the U.S. magistrate who recently fined former national security adviser Sandy Berger $50,000 for stealing and destroying classified documents from OUR National Archives, AND NO JAIL TIME.
Yes, Sandy Berger. Lots more on No More Mr. Nice Blog
...Activists are trying to put a radical measure on next year's ballot that could make South Dakota the first state to let people who believe their rights have been violated by judges put those judges on trial. Citizens could seek damages or criminal charges.
The measure would overturn more than a century of settled law in the United States by stripping judges of their absolute immunity from lawsuits over their judicial acts....
Legal experts warned that such a provision could dangerously undermine the independence of South Dakota's judiciary, plunge the court system into anarchy, and run afoul of the U.S. Constitution.
And they noted there are already remedies available to the public: Bad rulings can be overturned on appeal, and judges who break the rules can be punished by state disciplinary boards and, in South Dakota and other states, voted out of office....
Judicial immunity, the doctrine that says judges cannot be sued over their judicial acts, was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in an 1871 case....
If you're so inclined, check out their website, and you'll see just what kind of cases they feel the "activist judges" should be held accountable for:
Crime and no punishment
Deborah Robinson, the U.S. magistrate who recently fined former national security adviser Sandy Berger $50,000 for stealing and destroying classified documents from OUR National Archives, AND NO JAIL TIME.
Yes, Sandy Berger. Lots more on No More Mr. Nice Blog
