You won’t see blue behind the bench
Dallas Morning News
By Judge Jim Jordan
(Originally published on January 1, 2007) As a newly elected judge, I traveled to Austin the first week of December to attend the weeklong College for New Judges. Taught by a faculty of experienced judges from across the state, the program is designed to prepare judges who are taking office today.
The impact of the Dallas County Democratic sweep was evident. As a third of all new judges present, we were the elephant in the room. The dean of the college, Judge Stephen Ables from Kerrville, set the tone for all new judges: “You are now the walking manifestation of what justice means in your community.”
Judges compose the third branch of government. We do not have the power of the purse; that power belongs to the Legislature. The power to direct the police and the military resides with the executive branch. And judges do not make policy. The authority of the judiciary depends upon the confidence of the public. Without it, our orders and judgments may be ignored, and confidence in government as a whole erodes.
So, in addition to learning about docket management and courtroom procedures, we discussed broader issues – what qualities make a good judge, the ethics of judging, how is “justice” defined. In the first breakout of the new Dallas civil judges, our discussion leader, Dallas Judge Mary Murphy, asked us, “What are you most afraid of as you take the bench?” The answer goes to the essence of being a judge.
Texas judges are in a unique position. Like candidates running for legislative and executive positions, we run in partisan elections. Unlike these candidates, we should leave partisanship behind when we take the bench. The Legislature enacts laws to reflect the will of the people as expressed in the election. In the courtroom, all expect the laws to be applied as enacted, pursuant to the protective umbrella of the Constitution. There are no Republican or Democratic caucuses in the jury room. There must be none on the bench.
If judges rule based upon what they think the law should be instead of what the law is, rulings will become inconsistent from court to court and legislative actions will become irrelevant. The public would lose confidence in the judiciary. Our authority would be eroded. Our judgments would begin to be ignored.
As a trial attorney with 29 years’ experience I know that juries’ biggest fear is whether they arrived at the correct verdict. The biggest fear of a trial judge? Whether the law was correctly applied. In essence, the fears are the same. Did we get it right? Did we do justice?
I was a Democratic trial judge in Dallas County 20 years ago and was swept out of office by the “Reagan Revolution.” I didn’t switch parties to try to stay on the bench – because I am a Democrat. So I returned to private practice.
This year, I was swept back in with the Democratic tide. For some running with me, it was their third try. Others, like me, were returning to the bench. For all of us, the election victory on Nov. 7 was a long time coming.
One may think we would be ready for some “Democratic justice.” But justice is not partisan. If the new Texas judges are going to be the walking manifestation of justice in their communities, the robes we don today should be black – not blue or red.
