Dear Ms. Calvitto:
I had a good, hard laugh at the feigned "shock" of South Dakota's Senate Majority Leader Eric Bogue and Senate Minority Leader Garry Moore when a supporter of the proposed Judicial Accountability Initiative Law read a five-page statement before the Senate State Affairs Committee and then declined to answer any questions at that time. That was truly delicious justice served on a silver platter.
How many times have citizens appeared before their legislators, attempting to hold them accountable for the unintended consequences of grossly defective legislation only to be met with silent stares and smirks from their servant government officials? I can't even estimate the number of times citizens have demanded answers and explanations from our servant legislators only to be told that the Blah-Blah-Blah Committee would take it under advisement, a euphemism for "get away from me, boy, you bother me." And these two South Dakota state senators were "shocked"? Oh, sing us another one, do.
Any discussion of Amendment E that omits the list of criminal offenses from which South Dakota judges are seeking CONTINUED immunity is disingenuous and intentionally misleading. For your reference, here is the list of crimes that South Dakota judges DO NOT want to be held accountable for by Amendment E:
1. Deliberate violation of law
2. Fraud or conspiracy
3. Intentional violation of due process
4. Deliberate disregard of material facts
5. Judicial acts without jurisdiction
6. Blocking of a lawful conclusion of a case
7. Any deliberate violation of the constitutions of South Dakota or the United States
In other words, South Dakota judges want to be able to CONTINUE TO COMMIT any and all of the preceding crimes, with absolute immunity, to which the people of South Dakota are responding with a firm "No, thank you."
That the judges and their good buddies in the legislature would try to defeat the proposed amendment by using inflammatory statements and outright lies doesn't shock me in the slightest. Having seen the extent of the judicial corruption in this nation with my own two eyes, I would have bet my life on it.
A little friendly advice for the two swooning senators: When you recover from your hyperventilations and palpitations, if you have questions about the proposed amendment, take a dose of smelling salts and read it. But any attempt to discredit the motives of those who stand foursquare in support of the Judicial Accountability Initiative Law (Amendment E) will backfire in your faces. Born of necessity, this cause is just, the effect is lawful, and our language is plain and clear: No judge shall be above the law.
Sincerely,