It is the United States government that has control mechanisms between the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches that prevent a clear separation of powers and the excessive use of force by any one force.
Political parties were not united when the constitution was written, but they were united very quickly. Controversy arose over the last-minute nomination of defeated President John Adams after the first handover of power from one party to the other. An important legacy of the case was the Supreme Court's decision that the law could be declared unconstitutional. This did not sit well with incoming President Thomas Jefferson, but his administration won the case and accepted the decision.
The nation did the same, reiterating Chief Justice John Marshall's testimony — repeating what Adams had done: "The government of the United States is clearly established as the rule of law, not the government of men," and the courts would decide. what does the law mean…
To ensure fairness and independence in party systems, the courts must distance themselves from party politics, and the state does so to varying degrees. Kentucky, where we've elected bipartisan judges since 1976, is at risk of secession.
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In two races for the Supreme Court and the Circuit Court, which hears most cases involving the state governments, he spent a fortune beating judges outside of Kentucky that Republicans didn't like and bought it. About deceptive and misleading advertising, which is very popular in guerrilla racing.
A foreign-funded challenger, State Assemblyman Joe Fisher of Fort Thomas, supports partisan judicial elections, describes himself as a "conservative Republican," and sued the state commission in federal court for violating First Amendment rights by investigating the party. the type of campaign.
Sugar Daddy Fischer is the Republican Board of Governors' Judicial Justice Initiative and announced Oct. 13 that it will spend $375,000 on cable TV advertising for Fischer, bringing a total of $54,000 to the Supreme Court's 6th Circuit campaign will contribute. It stretches from Bracken County to Shelby County.
Fisher is also on the list of favorites from Fair Courts America, a subsidiary of Restoring America, the largest political action committee promoting social conservatism. He said he plans to spend $22.5 million on the seven-state judicial race — $1.64 million in Kentucky — in plans first reported in the Courier Journal in August.
Fischer's opponent was Fort Mitchell Judge Michelle Keller, a chartered independent who was first appointed to a vacancy by a Democratic governor and then re-elected to an eight-year term. He collected around 285,000 rupees for this competition.
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Kelly Thompson Jr. before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court judge said he switched from independent to Republican to win votes, but said he hopes to aim for fair courts in his race against Bowling Green attorney Shawn Alcott.
Fair Courts is suing Franklin County District Judge Phillip Shepherd, who is being sued by Joe Bilby, the attorney for Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, the Republican nominee for governor next year. An email and a TV ad accused Shepherd of reducing prison sentences from five years to 23 months for home sex offenders. Defending Shepherd in the State Journal, Commonwealth Attorney Larry Cleveland (Frankfort) said: "Given the somewhat unique circumstances of this case, Judge Shepherd correctly applied the law and his actions not only brought about justice but were reasonable."
So what's Shepherd's worst fair trial? No, his unusual entry into the justice race was likely influenced by Kentucky Republicans' dislike of the Shepherd decision, so the next announcement could be the Supreme Court's decision in August that the judge abused his discretion to block Republican legislation. He passed legislation ending Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's declaration of a state of emergency and set a deadline for emergency powers.
The issue is the distribution of power. However, money from outside and the participation of party officials in non-party races, such. B. The Jefferson County GOP's endorsement of nominees for judges and school boards.
Some Republicans may argue that the bipartisan system isn't truly equal because it allows judges with ideological agendas to address the court without a real hearing. It's not a perfect system, but my observations of 50 years of judicial elections in this state tell me that the bipartisan system remains a vast improvement over the old system, marred by politics and partisanship, although candidates can and usually do. , to be in competition. in the primaries of both parties.
A court full of partisan support and the positions that accompany it will be tainted and our weak faith in the government will be further weakened. Somewhere in our system, and certainly in court, politics doesn't matter.
Al Cross, a former Courier Journal political writer, is a professor and director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Affairs at the University of Kentucky. He wrote this column for the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism. Reach out to us on Twitter @ruralj.
This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Election: Partisan Politics Invades Impartial Justice