Above The Law
Ronald Rotunda, a professor of law at George Mason University, writes an op-ed in today's Washington Post in support of a bill currently in front of Congress, the Judicial Transparency and Ethics Enhancement Act of 2006. The bill would provide for an Inspector General for the Federal courts.
The Judicial Transparency and Ethics Enhancement Act of 2006, now before Congress, would create an inspector general for the courts. It offers modest reforms that would keep our judiciary independent (because no one favors a dependent judiciary) and help keep it accountable (because no one favors a judiciary that is above the law).
Nonetheless, there are those who greet it the way Dracula would greet a bouquet of garlic. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for example, has said of the proposal: "That's a really scary idea."
On the contrary, this bill would strengthen judicial independence because it would give people greater faith that if there were problems, the inspector general for the courts would deal with them and not sweep them under the rug. An inspector general would also protect judges from frivolous or false charges.
There are already 57 inspectors general for other organs of government — for the Justice Department, Iraq reconstruction and so forth. The House of Representatives has imposed an inspector general on itself. Indeed, one wonders why it has taken so long to create one for the courts.
What's troubling here is that it has taken this long to provide some sort of oversight for the courts. Rotunda details some of the problems that the bill would address with examples from real life. It's sad in many ways that it comes to this, but if the judges are not doing an effective job of policing themselves (and they are not), it is time to look at alternatives. Rotunda makes a strong case for the need for this bill. Judges are not, and should not be, above the law.
By Quilly Mammoth, Thursday, 21 December , 2006 @ 10:41 am
The problem is that Congress is supposed to provide oversight, unfortunetly the only option they really have is impeachment. And look what that get’s you…a congressional seat