| ► Columbus Dispatch – 06/30/00 Chief justice out to practice what he preaches |
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Columbus Dispatch – 06/30/00 Chief justice out to practice what he preaches By David Sams, Attorney at Law
Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer of the Ohio Supreme Court is setting a lousy example for Ohio’s judiciary. In just the last year, Moyer has betrayed his high office by:
Moyer is a Republican. Republican bosses and their contributors have targeted Resnick and other independent-minded judges for political extermination. And they believe that Judge Terrence O’Donnell of the Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals stands the best chance of taking her out. His recruitment as a candidate was very important to Republicans. Moyer’s promise had the effect of assisting Republicans in this regard. In effect, Moyer used his judicial office to advance a partisan political agenda. He public denies this, yet O’Donnell does not.
When challenged about these highly questionable activities, Moyer basically said he would have spoken differently had he known that a reporter was present at the Republican meeting and that the promise of a job to one challenging his colleague was OK because political promises are a way of life at a Supreme Court controlled by Republicans.
In other words, he’s only sorry he got caught, not that he may have done something wrong, and that something is OK because it’s done all the time. This childish mentality is laughable in the abstract but contemptible when displayed by someone in Moyer’s exalted position. Interestingly, Moyer’s court issued an opinion last year telling a suspended judge who thought his sanctioned comments to a reporter were “off the record” that the judge was liable nonetheless. Remember; do as I say, not as I do.
Moyer is fond of saying that our justice system must have the public’s support in order to function and survive. He writes columns imploring the legal profession to clean up its collective act to accomplish this. And then he turns around and acts like a two-bit political hack.
Judges have a duty to behave in such a manner that the public will regard them as decent, high-minded, nonpolitical and above the fray. Moyer has failed miserably in this regard. In fact, his reckless, even shameless, conduct has made him a sick joke in this regard.
I, for one, do not want to hear any more hypocritical preaching from Thomas J. Moyer, our exalted chief justice. My stomach can only take so much.
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