Democracy Needs Judges Free From Politics
Letter to Editor by Helen Perry Grimwood
State Bar of Arizona President
Published 6-18-2005

The State Bar applauds Scott Bales' appointment to the Arizona Supreme Court this week because Bales has an exceptional legal mind; deep, well-rounded experience; and just the right temperament to be a judge on our state's most important court.

But we're also deeply concerned. Concerned because at least one high-profile special interest group attacked Bales’ nomination calling him "a political crony" and "left-wing political activist." The group uses phrases like "judicial activism" to scare people into thinking we have judges running amok making whimsical decisions based on their personal beliefs. That’s just not true.

Those attacking Bales have not been critical of his legal abilities or qualifications but that's the only yardstick by which our judges should be measured. Bales is simply brilliant. He earned both a masters degree in economics and a law degree from Harvard. He was Solicitor General in the Attorney General's Office, served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice, as Special Investigative Counsel for the Justice Department's Inspector General, and as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix. He has served as a judge pro tempore for the Superior Court, Court of Appeals and worked as a lawyer in private practice. And he even clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

The bottom line is that, no matter which political party he belongs to, Scott Bales will be an exceptional justice.

So why should you care? Because we are witnessing a growing attack on our judges like we've never seen before. When you walk into a courtroom you want a judge to decide your case based on the facts and the law, not based on their personal political beliefs or on whether the judge is beholden to a group with particular ideals.

Our country is based on a checks and balances system that makes sure judges are separate from the politicians and from political pressures. Judges must maintain their independence. Our democracy depends on it.

Our independent judiciary is a critical guardian of our most precious liberties. Tampering with that independence is a frightening break from everything on which our American system is founded.

We're warning you now that the drumbeat attacking the judiciary will only grow louder over the next 12 months. Don’t be fooled. You deserve the best judges who can administer the law fairly without regard to public reaction or political persuasion.