One
of only two right-leaning justices who has served on the Washington
Supreme Court in recent years is in the battle of his life to regain
his seat. As a result of his unflinching
defense of
property rights, freedom
of religion, sanctity of marriage, gun rights, and the unborn,
former Justice Richard Sanders has been a lightening rod for attacks
from the left and the biased media. Those attacks finally cost him
reelection in 2010, after serving on the high court for three terms
since 1995.
After
he was sworn into office at the Washington Supreme Court in 1996,
Sanders walked over to a pro-life rally at the State Capitol and
briefly thanked the pro-lifers for their support. His enemies on the
left complained and made him the subject of a long, drawn out
expensive ethics investigation by the state judicial conduct
commission, which reprimanded him. The Supreme Court refused to allow
the Attorney General to represent him, forcing him to pay for his own
defense. $92,479 in attorneys fees later, the reprimand was
overturned by the Washington State Court of Appeals as a violation of
free speech. Sanders was forced to sue the state to obtain
reimbursement of his fees. The highly publicized ethics investigation
went on for so long that ultimately his name and reputation were
significantly damaged.
Once
in the crosshairs of the left and the complicit liberal media, the
attacks on Sanders continued. In 2003, he visited Washington's sexual
predator center, then located at McNeil Island, in order to gain a
better understanding of sex offenders, whose cases comprise some of
the Supreme Court's docket. The Commission on Judicial Conduct
admonished him for casually talking with a handful of inmates at the
center, vaguely accusing him of violating “judicial impartiality”
since some of the residents had active court cases.
Sanders
came under attack again right before the 2010 election over remarks
he made about race, likely costing him the election after the liberal
media blew them up. The Seattle
Times
switched its endorsement of Sanders at the last minute to his
opponent. The offending comment by Sanders? Blacks
may
be disproportionately incarcerated because they commit more crimes,
rather than because the criminal-judicial system is biased. Later he
clarified what he meant, but it was too late, "I
would never say, nor do I believe, that people commit crimes because
of their race."
Sanders'
special interest is the Washington Constitution, and says his
favorite provision is the role of government to protect and maintain
individual rights.
University of Washington affiliate law professor Hugh Spitzer said
that Sanders
“is
perhaps the deepest thinker on his court” and “one of the
brightest thinkers of that court.” Sanders wrote more than twice as
many dissents as any of the other justices in 2009, standing up for
principles rather than compromising. Sanders even dissented
from one of his own opinions, after the Ninth Circuit came to a
different conclusion on a separate case.
Sanders
is a principled constitutionalist. He upheld religious freedom in his
majority opinion Maylon
v. Pierce,
ruling that volunteer chaplains for the Pierce County Sheriff's
Department do not violate the religious establishment clause. He has
railed against “political correctness” in both his court opinions
and previous writing for the University of Washington student
newspaper The
Daily
while a law student. Sanders voted 90 percent of the time for lesser
or no sanctions against attorneys who came before the court on
disciplinary proceedings. It is common knowledge that there is a
systemic problem nationwide of state bar associations and
disciplinary judges throwing the book at right-leaning attorneys and
judges.
A
libertarian, Sanders is also known for his pro-criminal defense
decisions. This has alienated most prosecutors from supporting him
and likely costs him some support from conservatives. Sanders tends
to look out for the underdog and perceives his views on criminal
issues as consistent with his libertarian philosophy.
The
Supreme Court has shifted to the left since Sanders lost reelection,
with only one conservative left, Jim Johnson. Without Sanders, the
court voted 5-4 to strike down an initiative against red light
cameras. Sanders said, “Had
I been on the court it would have been 5-4 the other way.”
Sanders
is endorsed by Congressman Ron Paul, Attorney General Rob McKenna,
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, both the Washington State Republican and
Libertarian Parties, Gun Owners Action League, the National Rifle
Association, property rights organizations, and pro-life and
Christian organizations. The Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights
has rated him outstanding. Outgoing Supreme Court Justice Tom
Chambers endorsed Sanders over the other three candidates vying for
his seat. The liberal King County Bar Association predictably rated
him the lowest of the four candidates, evidence of their bias against
those on the right.
Sanders
will likely face off in the general election against Sheryl Gordon
McCloud, who is described by the Tacoma
News Tribune
as “a fiery liberal.” McCloud, a criminal defense attorney, has
been endorsed by the National Abortion Rights Action League, unions,
Democrat clubs, an executive director from the radical Latino
organization El Centro De La Raza and numerous criminal defense
attorneys.
Those
on the left and their friends in the liberal media continue repeating
the same three smear stories about Sanders. When will voters wake up
and realize that they are being fed what the media wants them to be
fed? Stories endlessly repeated should be a warning sign to the
public that they are being propagandized. Voters should ask why the
media is pushing certain information and wonder what they are not
telling us. Half-truths and innuendoes are no way to decide
elections. Former Democrat State Senator and Supreme Court justice
Phil Talmadge said about Sanders, “I
don’t think we’d want a Supreme Court of nine Richard Sanders,
but it’s healthy to have someone there who will be very careful on
actions by government, and that is why I have endorsed him.”
