A "NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS" DEMOCRACY :

Curbs on Judicial Hopefuls Lifted : High Court Clears Candidates to Offer Views on Issues (Edward Walsh, June 28, 2002, Washington Post)

The Supreme Court yesterday struck down restrictions on what candidates for judicial offices can say during their campaigns, moving the process of electing state judges toward the rough-and-tumble world of everyday politics and the types of political campaigns that are waged for other elective offices.

In a 5 to 4 decision in which the justices expressed conflicting opinions about the wisdom of electing judges, the court ruled that a Minnesota restriction that says a judicial candidate may not "announce his or her views on disputed legal or political issues" violated the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech.

"We have never allowed the government to prohibit candidates from communicating relevant information to voters during an election," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the majority opinion. [...]

"Judges are not politicians, and the First Amendment does not require that they be treated as politicians simply because they are chosen by popular vote," Ginsburg said.

Oh, really? Here's a definition of "politics" from dictionary.com :

pol·i·tics Pronunciation Key (pl-tks) n.
1. (used with a sing. verb)
a. The art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs.
b. Political science.

2. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
a. The activities or affairs engaged in by a government, politician, or political party: "All politics is local" (Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.). "Politics have appealed to me since I was at Oxford because they are exciting morning, noon, and night" (Jeffrey Archer).
b. The methods or tactics involved in managing a state or government: The politics of the former regime were rejected by the new government leadership. If the politics of the conservative government now borders on the repressive, what can be expected when the economy falters?

3. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Political life: studied law with a view to going into politics; felt that politics was a worthwhile career.

4. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Intrigue or maneuvering within a political unit or group in order to gain control or power: Partisan politics is often an obstruction to good government. Office politics are often debilitating and counterproductive.

5. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Political attitudes and positions: His politics on that issue is his own business. Your politics are clearly more liberal than mine.

6.(used with a sing. or pl. verb) The often internally conflicting interrelationships among people in a society.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

What do judges do if not participate in the governing of their jurisdictions? And if they govern us why shouldn't we be able to ask them what their views are on the issues? ...most dangerous branch indeed. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 28, 2002 6:30 PM