Court Opinion

ID: 9772191
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 17:09:45.190096+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:42:27.306644
License: Public Domain

WINTERSHEIMER, Justice,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur with that part of the opinion which determines that the Judicial Retirement and Removal Commission has jurisdiction to sanction a defeated judicial candidate after the election. However, I believe that the facts of this case present a serious constitutional question which has been improperly decided.
Deters was one of seven candidates for the office of district judge of Kenton County in the November, 1991 election. He finished fifth. Two newspaper advertisements were placed stating that “Jed K. Deters is a Pro-Life Candidate.” One ad was placed in the Catholic Messenger, a weekly newspaper, and the other in the Kentucky Post, a daily newspaper of general circulation in Northern Kentucky.
Zeal for the cause of judicial integrity is understandable and commendable. However, there must always be a careful balance between the need for impartiality of judges and the right of political free speech in response to an inquiry by the electorate. The right to disseminate information must be considered in regard to all the likely circumstances in a practical setting. The right of the public to know and the right to inform in regard to the question of elections are part of this complex mixture of political free speech.
Political free speech is primary as the cornerstone of a responsible representative democracy because it relates directly to the function of government in a free society. An informed electorate is the foundation of true liberty. The judiciary is no exception and is subject only to limitations which must be carefully and narrowly drawn. Recusal is a full guarantee for any appearance of impropriety. The requirement of the appearance of impartiality can easily be satisfied by recu-sal, voluntary or involuntary, of the judge thought to be offending. The best antidote for the misbehaving candidate is the voice of a truly informed electorate.
Practically, there is little likelihood that the issue involved in this case will occur. The advertisements in question were not a violation of the Judicial Canons of Ethics because the abortion issue is not likely to come before the Kenton District Court.
The record indicates there was no factual evidence presented by the commission on this question and that the candidate was obliged to present all the facts. The evidence as stipulated before the commission *206indicated that the sitting district judges in Kenton County were willing to testify that they had never heard an abortion related issue, that none were pending and that they did not anticipate any arising in the future. There are no hospitals in Kenton County which perform abortions, and there are no licensed abortion clinics in the county.
The ethical rule in question is more narrow than the issue denounced by this Court in J.C.J.D. v. R.J.C.R., Ky., 803 S.W.2d 953 (1991). There is a distinct difference between the standard of “likely” to come before the court and the criteria of “could possibly” come before the court. An abortion related issue is not likely to come before the Kenton County District Court.
A larger issue is the right of a candidate to discuss a public issue in the public forum, including a newspaper advertisement. There is a fundamental right of the people to know any candidate’s views and to obtain the information that is relevant to them in making their final electoral choices. Any restriction on a candidate’s right to engage in legitimate political discussion restricts the electoral process by not allowing the voters to obtain the necessary information.
Two principles are in conflict and must to the extent possible be reconciled. Candidates for public office should be free to express their views on all matters of interest to the voters. Judges, as candidates for public office, are in that category. However, judges in the performance of their duty must decide cases before them in accordance with the law rather than with any implied promises that may have been made to campaign supporters or to others. See Buckley v. Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, 997 F.2d 224 (7th Cir.1993).
The need and right of the voter to have information should be unchallenged and should be paramount in this consideration. Cf. Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy, 401 U.S. 265, 91 S.Ct. 621, 28 L.Ed.2d 35 (1971). This Court, in J.C.J.D., supra, indicated that a broad rule prohibiting judicial candidates from speaking on disputed issues serves only to turn the judicial election into a popularity contest. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly endorsed protection for the electoral process and the necessary first amendment rights related thereto. Cf. Brown v. Hartlage, 456 U.S. 45, 102 S.Ct. 1528, 71 L.Ed.2d 732 (1982).
There could be a variety of issues that may be important to the voters in a particular election. The response of candidates for judicial office can easily reveal their general view and philosophy as a public officeholder. In responding to such general and specific questions through a paid newspaper advertisement, a candidate should be considered as disseminating information so requested. The activity of response and information should be protected.
In regard to the right of political free speech, any state regulation must be subject to strict scrutiny and will be struck down unless it serves a compelling state interest and is narrowly drawn to serve that compelling state interest. Brown v. Hartlage, supra. When a regulation of free speech can result in disciplinary action against the speaker, the regulation will be subject to even greater scrutiny. In re Primus, 436 U.S. 412, 98 S.Ct. 1893, 56 L.Ed.2d 417 (1978). The canon challenged here cannot meet such a test of compelling interest and strict scrutiny.
The rationalization for Canon 7 B(l) is that it protects the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. Impartiality of the judiciary is safeguarded by the fact that SCR 4.300 Canon 3(C) requires a judge to recuse when any personal viewpoint obstructs the ability to render a fair and impartial decision.
This Court in J.C.J.D. v. R.J.C.R., supra, held that a very similar rule violated the First Amendment right of free speech. There are other decisions on analogous issues which reach a similar conclusion. See Buckley v. Illinois Judicial Inquiry Bd., supra. J.C.J.D. held that freedom of speech extends to all candidates for public office, including judicial candidates, and that where state regulations extend so far as to completely outlaw speech because of subject matter, there is a strong presumption of unconstitutionality.
The principle of impartial justice under law is strong enough to entitle the government to *207restrict the freedom of speech of those participating in the judicial process or election, but it is not so strong as to place that process completely above the scope of the constitutional guaranty of free speech. Buckley. The cardinal principle in balancing the tension between free speech and judicial propriety must remain that state laws which restrict free speech and that can result in disciplinary action against the speaker are subject to very strict scrutiny. The question must be whether the regulation has been so narrowly designed and strictly applied that a compelling state interest is served without unnecessarily burdening the exercise of free speech.
In my view that strict standard has not been met in this case.
LAMBERT, J., concurs in this opinion.