Friday, May 28, 2004

The weakest link in our system of justice is the judge. The American system of justice is held hostage to the personal integrity of the judges. If the judge lacks personal integrity then justice may never be found. "The integrity of the judge is, in the final analysis, the keystone of the judicial system; for it is integrity which enables a judge to disregard personalities and partisan political influences and enables him or her to base decisions solely on the facts, and the law applicable to those facts. It is, therefore, imperative that a judicial candidate's integrity and character with regard to honesty and truthfulness be above reproach. An individual with the integrity necessary to quality must be one who is able, among other things, to speak the truth without exaggeration, admit responsibility for mistakes and put aside self-aggrandizement. Other elements demonstrating integrity are intellectual honesty, fairness, impartiality, ability to disregard prejudices, obedience to the law and moral courage."
URL:http://court.nol.org/manual/aba.htm, American Bar Association's Guidelines for Reviewing Qualifications of Candidates for State Judicial Office. If a Judge intentionally lies and misrepresents the law, why should the system protect such a Judge?