Musical benches

For the ultimate example of the dangers of politicizing the judiciary, look no further than the wrangling now surrounding the proceedings against Tom DeLay:

A new judge was selected to preside over Representative Tom DeLay's conspiracy and money laundering trial today, after another judge became the second to step away from involvement in the case because of political contributions he has made.

Administrative Judge B.B. Schraub, a Republican who was to have selected the new judge for the case, withdrew after Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle filed a request to have him removed.

Two days earlier, District Judge Bob Perkins was removed from the case at DeLay's request because of his contributions to Democrats...

Lawyers on both sides in DeLay's case have argued that political contributions by judges have harmed at least the appearance of impartiality.

But in a state where judges are elected and free to contribute to candidates and political parties, it could be a challenge to find a judge who meets both sides' definition of impartial.

Fortunately, nobody in the mainstream (to my knowledge at least) is talking about going quite as far as electing judges in Canada. But we should be wary of taking any steps toward a legal system where partisan affiliation is assumed to override judicial independence.