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30
Jul

College Friend Jim Reston Passes!

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My good friend from college days at the University of North Carolina died recently. Jim Rushton wrote 18 books. He was a historian and novelist, and he provided a 96-page “interrogation” memo for David Frost’s TV interviews that prodded Nixon to admit, “I let the American people down” over Watergate.  He was a great athlete at Carolina, and still holds the record for scoring the most goals in a soccer match there.  We last visited in Linville, North Carolina on his book tour a year ago.  During our Carolina days, Jim and I would have dinner each evening at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house. I wish our conversations had been recorded as we made a gallant effort to solve most of the world’s problems.  Jim was 82 years old and died of cancer.  I will sure miss my friend of 70 years.  To read his full biography, Click Here.

 

14
Apr

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND LA JUDGES!

April 14, 2025

Monday, April 14th, 2025

 Baton Rouge, Louisiana

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND LA JUDGES!

Is Louisiana a judicial hellhole where decisions by state judges are influenced by campaign contributions?  Apparently, the Louisiana legislature and business lobbying groups think so. In recent legislative sessions, laws were passed taking away the authority of state judges to make decisions involving small claims above $10,000.  Evidently elected judges often do not make fair decisions.  Or at least that what insurance companies and other business groups want you to believe.

Under recent changes in the law, Louisiana’s threshold for jury trials will drop from $50,000 to $10,000. What this means is that insurance companies can demand a jury trial for even smaller collision cases where no injuries are involved.  Jury trials for reduced claims means the cost of bringing a lawsuit will significantly increase.

Insurance lobbyists argue that “auto claim disputes in the state presently heard before elected judges, providing opportunity to shop for favorable venues for frivolous cases.”  The implication is that elected judges receive campaign contributions, and are influenced in their decisions by plaintiff lawyers who contribute.  If this is the case, then why hasn’t the legislature address such judicial favoritism?

Can campaign contributions accepted by those seeking to step up to the bench and wear black robes influence a judge’s decisions?  To many observers, such contributions pose a great problem for those who want impartiality.

Even if a judge swears not to be swayed by campaign contributions, there is a real perception problem here. Let’s face it — lawyers who practice before elected judges are often the prime source of campaign contributions. And too often, vested interests that have a case pending before an elected judge are significant sources for the same campaign contributions.  So how do you deal with the conflicts, or the perception of such, when it comes to campaign funds?

The majority of voters in Louisiana want more accountability, and would like to have judicial candidates pass by them for approval on a regular basis. But how do you deal with the conflicts, or the perception of such, when it comes to campaign funds?

There’s an easy way to accomplish this goal. In most jurisdictions, it doesn’t even require an act of the legislature. Louisiana, and most other states could, by their own court rules, require that a judge recuse him or herself from ruling on any case where either the attorney, the attorney’s law firm, or a party to the case has made a campaign contribution to this judge. Prohibit the campaign dollars, and the public gets a much better chance of seeing both impartial decisions rendered, and having a system in place where there is a clear perception that both sides are getting a fair shake.

Some will argue that appointing rather than electing judges the way to go in Louisiana. But this raises the question — who will do the picking? To paraphrase Huey Long, “I’m all for appointin’ judges as long as I get to do the appointin’.” After all, most appointed judges receive their job through the good ole’ boy network. It’s not what you know, but who you know, and few get these plumb appointments for life without being well plugged in to the political system. So those who sanctimoniously talk about the politics involved in electing judges are turning a blind eye to the heavy-handed politics of an appointed system.

If legislators on the state level want to see an immediate improvement in the perception of the state judicial system, changing the rules of raising campaign funds will be an important first step. Oh, there will be some hollering from those who sit on the bench. But on balance, it is a solution that merits some review. And it is a lot better system than lifetime appointments where the guys and gals in black robes show a disdain for both scrutiny and accountability.

The 2025 session of the Louisiana legislature begins with just a few days. Yes, lower insurance rate are necessary and critical for Louisiana drivers. Yet the legislature does not need to take away basic rights of drivers just to get those lower rates. by putting judges under more scrutiny, 

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continui

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