Chief Justice Shepard speaks at IU

According to Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard, the way judicial electoral campaigns are being run is detrimental to our judicial system. \nChief Justice Shepard's speech at IU Thursday evening, "Judges and Elections are like Oil and Water," focused on the difficulties faced by candidates and voters in judicial elections. IU College Republicans sponsored the event, which drew over 200 people, including members of the Indiana Supreme Court, to the Willkie Auditorium.\n"We have many speakers come to campus, but not many are in the judicial branch," said junior Alan Grant, a member of College Republicans. "Chief Justice Shepard is not your typical politician. He is very well respected statewide, and we knew he would draw a diverse audience."\nShepard was elected Chief Justice in 1987 by the Judicial Nominating Commission when he was 40, making him the youngest Chief Justice in United States history. He has been re-elected three times since. \nShepard began his speech citing the difficulties citizens have voting a judicial candidate. Often, when voters do not recognize either candidate on the ballot, they will either vote for their party or leave the ballot blank, Shepard said. \n"If you track how many people go into the voting booth on Election Day there is almost a 25 percent drop in votes from the congressional to the judicial elections," he said.\nJudge is an unclear position to the public, Shepard said. A judge's visibility is often diminished due to the nature of the job. Judges do not take a direct part in the creation of laws, and their contributions are often overlooked.\n"Most often, judges don't get recognition for their decisions," Shepard said. "The lawyers get most of the attention in cases."\nOne of a judge's major duties, unlike a typical politician, is to have an open and fair mind that is willing to judge each case uniquely. Shepard said it is difficult for voters to make a decision based on these qualities in larger elections.\n"Judicial elections work well on the local level when voters have a fighting chance of actually getting to know the candidate," he said.\nAs a result, the outcomes of many judicial elections are based on money spent, Shepard said. However, it is difficult for judicial candidates to focus on specific issues through advertisements. As a result, judges often resort to hollow claims and unreasonable promises to win voters.\n"We end up making all the same claims," Shepard said. "Name me a county where they don't say 'Judge so-and-so is tough on criminals.' Judicial elections hurt our system when candidates begin saying things like 'I don't parole criminals' or 'I won't make plea bargains.'"\nThese promises take away judges' ability to be fair in the courtroom, Shepard said. For example, a judge who has promised not to plea bargain might sentence someone deserving of a lesser punishment to a long prison term so that no confidence would be lost with the voters.\n"Judges who make radical promises to win elections are forced to make radical decisions," Shepard said. "Unfortunately, an effective judicial election campaign is fun to watch, but it is very bad in the courtroom for citizens looking for fair judication."\nThough Shepard sees problems in judicial campaigns, he said he still believes in the electoral process.\n"I love elections," he said. "They are too important for me to degrade. The system has served our country well for a long time, but (judicial candidates) are not better off using campaign systems that emulate the other two branches."\nShepard is one of many speakers invited by IU College Republicans to campus.\n"His appearance in Bloomington is greatly appreciated by campus administrators, local attorneys, and the IU community," said Derek Molter, IU College Republicans Events Director. "Any time someone of such prominence comes to campus, it reminds us that IU is a place where leaders at all levels in all areas can engage in issues of the day"