I was deciding how to vote in the upcoming California election, and I had a pretty easy time until I got down into the details of some of the lower-profile races. What the hell are all of these judges doing on my ballot?
Basically, the governor appoints judges, who must be approved by the voters. Those that get approved serve 12-year terms and then have to go back on the ballot.
I started hunting around for information about the judges, and the first place I landed was the very helpful www.judgevoterguide.com. It's a conservative site that opposes "actvist" judges and supports "constructionist" judges.
I kept looking around but couldn't find anything that amounted to a progressive/liberal voting guide. I read some other articles on the three Supreme Court judges, but it's pretty slim pickings for the rest. I came to learn that all of the district judges I would be voting on had been appointed by Republican governors. I also came to learn that the GOP has a nationwide effort to get conservative judges in the courts.
So, I don't have infinite time, and I wish I were much better informed. So what am I doing? Voting the opposite of www.judgevoterguide.com. If they rate the judge as a '4' or less, I'm voting for them. Otherwise, I'm voting no.
Perhaps I should just not vote, perhaps that is a more moral thing to do. But I've decided to go all partisan and shit and here goes:
Tani Cantil-Sakauye: Yes. She's a moderate Republican, but no one seems to have a big problem with her. You can also vote 'No' if you think Jerry Brown will win and appoint someone more progressive.
Ming Chin: No. Voted in support of the constitutionality of Prop 8. On the whole, a very conservative judge.
Carlos Moreno: Yes. He's the only identifiably progressive judge on the whole list, and he was in consideration to replace SCOTUS Justice Souter last year.
Kathleen Banke: No
Robert Dondero: No
James Lambden: No (another commenter -- see below -- votes Yes)
Martin Jenkins: No
Peter Siggins: Yes
Timothy Reardon: No
Henry Needham, Jr.: No
Terence Bruiniers: No
Monday, October 25, 2010
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