Weight control for judges

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Judge just doesn't see failure to treat people with dignity, respect

by JANE ANN MORRISON

May. 28, 2007

Las Vegas Review-Journal

This is the story of a 425-pound woman who used to be a law clerk and even got fired. She campaigned and finally got voted as judge. She has now turned the opportunity into payback against the world for her woes.

Maybe there should be a new concept in the philosophy of law? A new standard for legal objectivity? How about a law against obesity for being a judge? Say a limit on 250 pounds tops?

Joking aside, the story of this woman is one of the reasons I love the checks and balances principle of the USA government. Power can go to the head of anyone and voters can be quite blind in analyzing the personality of a candidate they elect to see if he/she will abuse power. So there has to be a way to contain power. Once a person has it, he/she does not want to give it up. They even relish a poor reputation as proof of their efficacy. From the article:

Buoyed by power, convinced everyone is against her, Elizabeth Halverson, 49, has achieved what seems to be her heart's desire: She is the center of attention. She's page one news, and she leads the nightly television news.

The abuses by District Judge Elizabeth Halverson not only have a limited time to run (another 18 months), there are provisions for redress (through lawsuits) and removing her before the end of the term.

In the exercise of checks and balances, it will be seen that Judge Halverson's behavior has been er... heavily weighted to one side. That must be checked and balance restored. I think it will be.

Michael

[Chris Grieb]

Certain classes of officeholders are hard to remove. Judges and prosecutor among them. One can only reflect that Mike Nifong is still head prosecutor in Durham. The article did make clear to me how the judge is abusing her power.