Posted by Orin Kerr:
People v. Zackery:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_12_24-2006_12_30.shtml#1167289111
During a proceeding about a guilty plea in state trial court, a trial
judge made a dismissive comment to the prosecutor about needing to
follow a particular procedure to avoid reversal by appellate courts.
"Oh, that�s right," the Judge remarked, "You can�t offend the
kangaroos up there in kangaroo court." On appeal following a guilty
plea, the intermediate appellate court went out of its way to scold
the trial judge for making the comment. Here is the passage from the
appellate court's opinion in [1]People v. Zackery, which was selected
for publication in relevant part:
In making his "kangaroo court" remark, on the record in open
court, Judge Saiers violated Canon 1 of the Code of Judicial
Ethics, which provides as pertinent: "A JUDGE SHALL UPHOLD THE
INTEGRITY AND INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY. [¶] An independent
and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society.
A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining, and
enforcing high standards of conduct, and shall personally observe
those standards so that the integrity and independence of the
judiciary will be preserved. The provisions of this Code are to be
construed and applied to further that objective." (Cal. Code Jud.
Ethics, canon 1.)
. . .
Reading a little between the lines, it appears that Judge
Saiers�s "kangaroo court" remark was provoked by his frustration
not being able to dispose of a pending case in a way he thought
sensible. It would appear that, in his eyes, this court was a
naive, ivory-tower, obstructionist, oblivious to the real-world
problems of trial courts faced with staggering caseloads.
This view is not accurate.
As former trial judges, we have all experienced the stressful
crush of pending cases. We are also aware of the desperate plight
of the San Joaquin County Superior Court, which, until recently,
had not been allocated a new judicial position in two decades,
despite significant population increases and rising caseloads.
(Meath, New Judges for San Joaquin County? XXI Across the Bar
(Sept. 2006) p. 9.)4 But trial judges must understand this
overarching fact about the Court of Appeal: despite our awareness
of and sympathy for your plight, we have no warrant to disregard
the law. Rather, we have all taken an oath to enforce it.
And so, if a trial judge violates the law, even in the name of
short-term efficiency, matters are simply made worse. Things have
to be done again. More lawyers must be hired, more judges involved,
more transportation of prisoners, etc. All at taxpayer expense. It
is more expensive to do things twice than to do them once
correctly. The truth of the matter is that Judge K. Peter Saiers
has wasted taxpayers' dollars.
(emphasis added)
It goes without saying that the trial judge's comment was completely
inappropriate. At the same time, doesn't it seem somewhat unwise for
the appellate court to take offense in such a public way? My own
impression, at least on a first read, is that the appellate court
comes off as wanting to embarrass the trial judge. The passage reads
like a judicial tit-for-tat. As [2]Shaun Martin points out, the latter
bolded portion "appears almost purposefully amenable for use by a
challenger the next time Judge Saiers has to run for reelection." Now,
maybe that was deserved; I don't know anything about the trial judge,
or the appellate panel, or the history between them. But if the
appellate court was concerned with maintaining the integrity of the
judiciary, I'm not entirely sure this opinion was the best way to do
it.
Do you disagree? I would be particularly interested to know if you
think I'm missing the boat here.
Hat tip: [3]Howard.
References
1. http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/C051431.PDF
2.
http://calapp.blogspot.com/2006/12/people-v-zachary-cal-ct-app-dec-27-2006.html
3. http://howappealing.law.com/122706.html#020734
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