Tim Potts on judicial cowardice in Pennsylvania

Tim Potts, who operates the reform site DemocracyRisingPA, weighs in on the League of Women Voters lawsuit against the Ralph Cappy, the former chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the threats made by the current chief justice, Ron Castille, against the League and its attorney.

Potts writes:

"Most people recognize the furtive plotting of the pay raise as an unparalleled act of political cowardice. Less conspicuous is the courage some lawmakers displayed in assisting the League. If the case goes forward, those lawmakers will exhibit a degree of courage that has been absent from PA politics for decades.

Sadly, the chief justices don't understand that they are servants, not masters, and that citizens have a right to know what their government is doing before the fact, not just after. The League's lawsuit must come as a shocking reminder to these arrogant jurists that the government belongs to the citizens, not to them, and we citizens are not going away until we get it back."

Read the full post, "Cappy & Castille Confuse Courage & Cowardice," at the DemocracyRisingPA Web site.

For more views and background on the growing controversy, read my earlier post, "When Judges Are Accused of Breaking The Law," as well as "Cappy & Castille Confuse Courage & Cowardice" at POLICY BLOG and "Lawsuit alleges backroom dealings by Pa.'s former top judge" in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Also, Russ Diamond has something to say about "Disorder in the Court" at PACleanSweep.com