Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Judiciary measure a good compromise

4/24/07
In a sensible move, the state Legislature’s Judiciary Committee approved recently a compromise bill to allow more oversight of the state court system. It fell short of what many court critics were looking for, a constitutional amendment, but would, if enacted, help bring some necessary safeguards to the judicial process.
The court oversight legislation includes a cooperative arrangement with the judicial branch to let the General Assembly review and possibly reject administrative changes. After a rough year in which the judicial branch dealt with accusations of excess secrecy in conducting its operations, it’s a measure that should meet wider approval.
The bill would take steps to reduce the power the state Supreme Court has enjoyed over the past few decades over court procedures and rules. By law, rules of the court are supposed to come from legislative action, not from court fiat, so it’s a good idea to reassert that power.
It was a scandal of the judiciary’s own making that set the recent push in motion. Had former Chief Justice William J. Sullivan not acted improperly in delaying release of a controversial court decision for the supposed benefit of his chosen successor, this movement might not have gathered steam. But because that misbegotten act may lead to an opening up of a far too closed and secretive judiciary, it is likely to end up as a net positive for the state.
For proponents of an even stronger statement, it must have been clear that a constitutional amendment would have faced a tough road in the Assembly. A long process that is in no way guaranteed to succeed is not preferable to a bill approved unanimously in committee and likely to meet similar approval in the wider Assembly. It doesn’t go as far as some wanted, but it’s a good and necessary step.
Now it’s up to the judiciary to listen. The uproar over Sullivan’s act and the consequent legislative action shows that the current level of secrecy cannot be maintained. It’s time to open up those books a bit, and prove to the rest of the state that all three branches of government really are equal.

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