Rotary Program: 5/24/06

Program Chairperson: Kitty White

Speaker: William Fortune, Professor of the UK School of Law

William Fortune, in addition to being a Professor at the UK School of Law, is also a member of the Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee (JCCC), an organization dedicated to educating the public about the differences between judicial campaigns and those of other partisan political offices. JCCC also stresses the importance of setting high standards in conducting judicial campaigns so that they are as ethical and as dignified as possible. They also monitor t.v., radio, and print media so that they may investigate complaints about unfair campaign tactics and make public statements denouncing such practices. The committee is made up of attorneys, business people, educators, and any other concerned citizens who support the goals of the organization. Mr. Fortune gave a brief history lesson as to how it came to be that Kentucky now elects its judiciary and what is considered the appropriate methods of campaigning so that judges can maintain impartiality in every trial and yet remain accountable to the law and the Constitution, not to political parties, politicians, or special interest groups. He advises that candidates should not promise anyone how they would rule on any specific case nor should they endorse any ideology, interest group, or political party agenda. Another area to avoid, he said, was the acceptance of campaign contributions to the point that the contributor(s) might be able, in the future, to influence how he or she might rule on pending litigation. Neither should a judge engage in negative advertising to discredit, demonize, or denigrate an opponent, which would cause the public to believe that judicial races are no different than other political campaigns. What voters should do is examine the relevant experience of the candidate, the judge’s personal qualities, and how efficiently he or she would operate the court in all its functions. The public has a right to an impartial, efficient, courteous, hard-working judiciary, and one that is free from undue influence from the executive and legislative branches of government. To make that a reality, however, we must insist that all our judges conduct themselves within the highest ethical and moral standards and that they treat everyone fairly, impartially, and in the dignified manner with which the position was originally intended. - JMC