Just in time for the November elections, the Illinois Judges Association makes a plea for judicial independence

From the text of the "Judicial Independence Declaration" on the Illinois Judges Association website:

A basic principle that defines the United States of America is that we are all entitled to equal treatment under the law. The judiciary’s primary function is to protect the rights of all people.

The court system can only function if it is viewed as impartial, that means making decisions based solely upon the facts and the law.

There are headline grabbing incidents of judges being threatened at all levels of the judiciary. The incidents are happening more frequently. These assaults are not solely limited to a disgruntled litigant, or non-prevailing party. Many are based upon a political agenda.

Judges are called upon to make decisions on controversial and hotly contested matters. We make these decisions because we have been given a position of trust in our communities. The voters should be able to determine whether we retain that position of trust based upon whether our rulings are fair and well grounded in the law, not whether we adhere to anyone’s political idealogy.

Our democracy encourages discussion, debate and scrutiny. The scrutiny that a judge receives is appellate review, and further Supreme Court review. The right to appeal an adverse ruling subjects those rulings to further scrutiny to determine if that decision comports with the facts and the law.

In November, judges on each level of court system will be on the ballot. Members of the state supreme court, the state appellate court, and the circuit court will be seeking retention. Voters should evaluate judges based on their integrity, professionalism, temperament, fairness and impartiality.

Of course partisans on OUR SIDE (whatever side is yours) can point to all sorts of instances where partisans on THE OTHER SIDE are guilty of terrific attacks on judicial independence but never see any problem in their campaign rhetoric or tactics. This always reminds me of the quote from the Gospel of Matthew (in the exquisite language of the King James Bible), "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

Which is yet another reason why I never made it in politics....

But the principle of judicial independence is of vital import to the continued vitality of our system and the reminder is timely and appropriate.