I fully realize that by using the words politics and justice in the same sentence, I risk the chance of any legitimacy to any other sentences past this one. But, stick with me, I promise I will bring it all full circle. Admittedly so, most people would have a hard time seeing a relationship between the two words that, according to everything that we have been taught, should be light years away from each other. The blurring of the two would have disastrous effects or that is at least what we have been told. But, the truth of the matter is that these two worlds have been mixing for many, many, years. In fact, some will say that politics, to some degree, actually dictates how justice is defined.

One of the most political and controversial topics in our country now is the Supreme Court. The appointment of those candidates who will fill the Supreme Court has turned into one of the most orchestrated, partisan, and yes….political matters that we have. Neutrality is no longer an issue when it comes to the Supreme Court. In fact, the individual, unbiased, opinion of a candidate is only important if it mirrors the biased and collective opinion of the party in charge. When is the last time that we have seen a Supreme Court appointment that was in opposition to the ruling party at the time? It has everything to do with politics and very little anymore as to what is or is not justice. But, what do we call these people who fill the most important seats in our legal system? Yep, you got it……Justices!

We have also seen how dangerous this mix can be on a local level when it comes to the matter of money. More importantly, how our elected officials think that the money, which is actually our money, should be spent. The epitome of a Mexican stand-off occurred this year when our legislative bodies could not come to an agreement as to our state budget. After some pretty serious wrangling, and one line after another being drawn in the sand, our legislative session ended without the approval of a budget. Not since the NBC peacock have we seen this much strutting. When two sides get to this point, the results are usually not good. And remember, in this case, the two sides are really all on the same side…if that makes any sense. But, regardless of the political family relationship, the session ended without a budget. After discussing an extended session, the big news story was that the budget could be approved with a line item veto of certain monies. The news story that did not make it was that several existing state-paid employees of the justice system would have to be furloughed for several days due to a lack of approved money. On one had, several new positions for a new Judgeship were approved, but on the other hand, we can not afford to pay current employees. Okay, let me see a showing of hands for those who are as confused as I am. Robbing Peter to pay Paul, or in this case, robbing justice for the sake of politics, is probably not the best way to ensure a healthy and productive Criminal Justice System.

This mixing of politics and justice can also be seen in our elected law enforcement officials. I wish someone would convince me why a Sheriff or a District Attorney has to declare themselves as a republican or a democrat or whatever, but a Judge can run in an election as a bi-partisan candidate. Aren’t we all seeking the same goal of justice? Apparently, the rules for ensuring justice depend on who you are talking to at the time.

My father used to tell me that there are certain things that simply should not be mixed; oil and vinegar, gas and water, and definitely religion and politics. Maybe we should consider adding justice and politics to this list of things that do not mix. But, what does he know? He also used to tell me that you should never trust anyone who had a profession that started with the letter “P.” That included preachers, politicians, policy makers, and most of all, the police. I was with him all the way up to that last one.