Harper's Impeachment Panel

I awoke to CSPAN again this morning. They were airing a panel put together by Harper's Magazine on the impeachment of Bush.

The effects of this new right-wing dominated Supreme Court will be seen not only in the cases they decide, but the cases they refuse to decide. Consider, for example, this from the Associated Press:

By GINA HOLLANDThe Associated PressMonday, March 6, 2006; 12:57 PM

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider whether a top judge in Illinois improperly voted to throw out a $1 billion judgment against State Farm after accepting campaign donations from company lawyers and executives.

As Holland points out in the article, this case raises the question of whether an individual citizen has a right to a hearing before an impartial judge. As judge who has received campaign contributions from the company at question in the case, can hardly be considered as impartial.

Customers of the Bloomington, Illinois State Farm Insurance Company won a class-action lawsuit "accusing the company of fraud for refusing to pay for top-quality replacement parts on damaged cars." The judge in question, was asked to stay out of the case because of the conflict of interest the campaign contributions represented.

Continuing from the Associated Press:

A dozen public interest groups had pressed the Supreme Court to declare that people have a due process right to an unbiased judge, pointing out that 30 states will hold supreme court elections this year and money may taint those contests.

Lawyers for groups such as Common Cause told justices that high-dollar judicial races "engender an appearance of corruption that critically threatens the very foundation of the courts, and the rights of the litigants who appear in them."

Karmeier, a Republican, and his Democratic opponent spent, combined, more than $9 million in 2004 in what experts called the most expensive judge race in American history.
After taking the bench he sided with State Farm, and separately voted to throw out a $10 billion fraud judgment against Philip Morris over the marketing of its "light" cigarettes.
Justices were told that Karmeier directly received $350,000 in State Farm-related donations.
But lawyers for State Farm flatly denied that and said the company itself gave no money to Karmeier. "This court should reject (their) attempt to salvage some part of their case by improperly impugning the integrity of Justice Karmeier and the Illinois Supreme Court," lead lawyer Sheila Birnbaum said in a filing.

The Illinois Supreme Court has been split on whether to overturn the verdict entirely, and Karmeier cast the deciding vote.

Separately, public interest groups have asked a state board that looks into allegations of judicial misconduct to investigate Karmeier.

The case is Avery v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 05-842.

This case is just the beginning of the judiciary joining the executive branch in managing the society for corporate interests.