Yes indeed, and one reason to read the Injustice Watch judicial retention voting guide carefully as well as to wait for the various bar association ratings.
Thank You! i have always wondered how to gain more information about candidates for judge positions. i will check my state’s bar association website… 💙
It might be helpful to suggest the sources we could research, that are publicly available.
It would also be tactical for opposition researchers to publicize the sources of the info they dig up on their opponents so we, the people, can do our own fact checking!
I live in a country where judges are appointed in some mysterious way by officialdom. I’m unsure which system is preferable. That is my way of saying neither is optimal because judges in the common law countries are invariably lawyers. The legal profession is the least ethical professional group save, possibly, for accountants.
I thought I might get some pushback given you are a lawyer. What lies behind my view is the disrepute that the stare decisis doctrine has fallen into. Except in the most clear cut cases it can be stepped around. But when it is settled law yet is still reversed then there can be no confidence in it.
Thanks very much for this information. I’ve had difficulty voting for judges before in Colorado because information about them seemed scarce, but now I have a few guidelines.
I’m also going to forward this Substack to an old college friend of mine who lives in the Chicago area. We just spoke for a couple of hours last night about politics. She will appreciate having this.
This was a marvelously helpful article! I wonder how biased you think the Bar administration is? Could they be persuaded to publish short info pieces for the voters? That would at least provide for objective criteria upon which voters could decide. Every judge should be checked out thoroughly by voters—it is one of the fundamental and crucial parts of our democracy.
It is precisely Clarence Thomas with his Opus Dei connections and his Federalist Society ties that make him dangerous. It is the stated goal of these organizations to seek out and mentor those who would follow their program. For Opus Dei it is literally a plan to overthrow the government. Connections with what I consider a subversive organization should be legally disqualifying for a judgeship.
Having right wing views is one thing, accepting bribes from partisan billionaires is another. Congress needs to get its act together and start removing Justices and Judges for these biased behaviors. The.Supreme Court should not be the launching pad for Insurrectionists.
Now we have the information that there was no proper background check into Brett Kavanaugh. Just as with Anita Hill, a brave woman risked her reputation to tell the truth and was steamrollered by a partisan President. That is truly shocking. In some ways it is worse than the conduct of Thomas.. Sexual assault was not properly adjudicated by the Senate..
Thank you for exposing distortions of truth. Judges impact everything!! Selection of judges is the number one issue affecting our justice system. Obviously, just thinking of the new info on all the women who called into the FBI about Kavanaugh raping them even as the calls were somehow re-routed to the whitehouse. Wow.
The need for reform in selecting judges is also seen in rulings by those appointed in Illinois by those elected as circuit judges. Thank God for the Appellate courts!
Here’s an interesting Clarence Thomas tidbit of info. Recently, I learned in a quadruple hearsay kind of way from a Missouri judge that former AG John Ashcroft told someone that his biggest mistake of his career was taking Clarence Thomas with him to DC. I’m not up on the history and I’m not an Ashcroft fan (I wrote a disparaging entertaining poem about him and the bush administration once) but wow does that say a lot- coke cans aside. I have never been aligned with the Republican party in any way even as I voted for my congressman Jon Anderson for president in my first primary election. Reagan won of course and I am nearly an expert in showing how Ronald Reagan is responsible for most things wrong even today (think redistribution of wealth and deregulation of so many industries gone amuck). Still, I sincerely hope that the Republican Party begins to emerge back to normalcy when the dust of this election settles. I hope.
Great article and case study! Yes, the judges we elect down the ballot do matter. Collectively, we have to eradicate MAGA and extremism at every level of our government.
Thank you for this guide. I do not live in Illinois, but I can learn from the plain examples you have set forth. I appreciate your perspective and your style!
Yes indeed, and one reason to read the Injustice Watch judicial retention voting guide carefully as well as to wait for the various bar association ratings.
Thank You! i have always wondered how to gain more information about candidates for judge positions. i will check my state’s bar association website… 💙
It might be helpful to suggest the sources we could research, that are publicly available.
It would also be tactical for opposition researchers to publicize the sources of the info they dig up on their opponents so we, the people, can do our own fact checking!
Alot of voters won't do their own fact checking
Good guide to check for omissions that could dress up a claim.
I live in a country where judges are appointed in some mysterious way by officialdom. I’m unsure which system is preferable. That is my way of saying neither is optimal because judges in the common law countries are invariably lawyers. The legal profession is the least ethical professional group save, possibly, for accountants.
I thought I might get some pushback given you are a lawyer. What lies behind my view is the disrepute that the stare decisis doctrine has fallen into. Except in the most clear cut cases it can be stepped around. But when it is settled law yet is still reversed then there can be no confidence in it.
On my early ballot
I had names of local candidates
to check in / check off, vote for,
names of neighbors, people I might
see in the grocery store, or see walking
in the park.
A month in advance I looked for details asking
Who are these people and what are their politics?
I found nothing.
With tears I circled what I could guess might offer
any hope. I was crushed by the experience.
Surrounded by Trump lawn signs, following my Congressional Representative’s “ News Letter”
a highly bent Rightwing digital representation of
sick partisan nonsense, I live frustrated.
Me too!
My teacher accused me of plagiarism
His words not mine.
Thanks very much for this information. I’ve had difficulty voting for judges before in Colorado because information about them seemed scarce, but now I have a few guidelines.
I’m also going to forward this Substack to an old college friend of mine who lives in the Chicago area. We just spoke for a couple of hours last night about politics. She will appreciate having this.
This was a marvelously helpful article! I wonder how biased you think the Bar administration is? Could they be persuaded to publish short info pieces for the voters? That would at least provide for objective criteria upon which voters could decide. Every judge should be checked out thoroughly by voters—it is one of the fundamental and crucial parts of our democracy.
It is precisely Clarence Thomas with his Opus Dei connections and his Federalist Society ties that make him dangerous. It is the stated goal of these organizations to seek out and mentor those who would follow their program. For Opus Dei it is literally a plan to overthrow the government. Connections with what I consider a subversive organization should be legally disqualifying for a judgeship.
Having right wing views is one thing, accepting bribes from partisan billionaires is another. Congress needs to get its act together and start removing Justices and Judges for these biased behaviors. The.Supreme Court should not be the launching pad for Insurrectionists.
Now we have the information that there was no proper background check into Brett Kavanaugh. Just as with Anita Hill, a brave woman risked her reputation to tell the truth and was steamrollered by a partisan President. That is truly shocking. In some ways it is worse than the conduct of Thomas.. Sexual assault was not properly adjudicated by the Senate..
Thank you for exposing distortions of truth. Judges impact everything!! Selection of judges is the number one issue affecting our justice system. Obviously, just thinking of the new info on all the women who called into the FBI about Kavanaugh raping them even as the calls were somehow re-routed to the whitehouse. Wow.
The need for reform in selecting judges is also seen in rulings by those appointed in Illinois by those elected as circuit judges. Thank God for the Appellate courts!
Here’s an interesting Clarence Thomas tidbit of info. Recently, I learned in a quadruple hearsay kind of way from a Missouri judge that former AG John Ashcroft told someone that his biggest mistake of his career was taking Clarence Thomas with him to DC. I’m not up on the history and I’m not an Ashcroft fan (I wrote a disparaging entertaining poem about him and the bush administration once) but wow does that say a lot- coke cans aside. I have never been aligned with the Republican party in any way even as I voted for my congressman Jon Anderson for president in my first primary election. Reagan won of course and I am nearly an expert in showing how Ronald Reagan is responsible for most things wrong even today (think redistribution of wealth and deregulation of so many industries gone amuck). Still, I sincerely hope that the Republican Party begins to emerge back to normalcy when the dust of this election settles. I hope.
💙💙💙💙💙💯💯💯
Great article and case study! Yes, the judges we elect down the ballot do matter. Collectively, we have to eradicate MAGA and extremism at every level of our government.
Thank you for this guide. I do not live in Illinois, but I can learn from the plain examples you have set forth. I appreciate your perspective and your style!