Don't Fire Justice Roush!
Don't Fire Justice Roush!
The Issue
Friends,
In the past few days, powerful and thoughtful voices all around the Commonwealth have spoken out in favor of the independence and integrity of our state judiciary and the importance of keeping Justice Jane Marum Roush in her seat on the Virginia Supreme Court.
As you may know, Justice Roush was appointed by the Governor to a vacancy on the Virginia Supreme Court in July, with the unanimous support of the Fairfax legislative delegation.
Under our state Constitution, our Virginia Justices are formally elected by the Legislature. But because we have a part-time Legislature that’s only in session for a month or two every year, the Governor routinely appoints Justices to the Supreme Court when the Legislature is not in session.
And for the past 115 years, 31 gubernatorial appointments to the Supreme Court in a row have all been then formally elected by the Legislature. 31 in a row.
Unfortunately, shortly after Justice Roush took her seat, there was a dust-up between the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader of the Senate and the Governor over her appointment and whether the Governor’s office should have done more to consult directly with the leadership of the House and Senate.
Apparently, after several twists and turns, that game of political finger-pointing hasn’t been resolved. As a result, leaders of the General Assembly have – at least at the moment – indicated that they plan to break with more than a century of Virginia tradition and will decline to elect Justice Roush to her current seat in the coming legislative session.
With the legislative session now underway, please lend your voice to this growing public chorus in favor of keeping Justice Roush in her seat on the Supreme Court. If you have the ear of an elected official – bend it.
Share with him or her your concern – that the independence of the judiciary, the stability of the court – is in jeopardy. Explain how a judiciary – independent of partisan politics – protects Virginia citizens and makes Virginia a state attractive to business. They need to hear from you.
Senator John Watkins in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
http://m.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/guest-columnists/article_78ba2373-9264-56d5-b5fd-b2aec5311913.html?mode=jqm
Republican statesman Wyatt Durrette in the Virginian Pilot:
http://pilotonline.com/opinion/columnist/guest/wyatt-durrette-find-a-solution-to-supreme-court-spat/article_7f116b14-87ae-53b9-83de-0586a4432087.html
University of Richmond Law Professor Carl Tobias in the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-the-virginia-legislature-must-elect-roush/2016/01/07/7d8c55b8-b2f8-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html
and in the Washington & Lee Law Review:
http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&context=wlulr-online
Former Virginia Attorney General Tony Troy in the Roanoke Times:
http://www.roanoke.com/opinion/commentary/troy-judicial-independence-the-rule-of-law-and-justice-roush/article_84c4c379-5bf1-524e-815f-9bb63e28bdeb.html#.VpX9FHSHJpM.mailto
Paul Fletcher in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly:
http://valawyersweekly.com/2016/01/12/editorial-keep-justice-roush-on-the-high-court/
Jeff Schapiro in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/jeff-schapiro/article_37a49e13-dc86-5752-acd2-02b9c89b11f0.html
Dahlia Lithwick in Slate:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2016/01/virginia_supreme_court_fight_is_bad_for_justice_and_for_women.html
ORIGINAL PETITION FOLLOWS:
Are you as outraged as we are at the announcement that the Virginia Legislature will unseat Justice Jane Marum Roush?
Justice Roush is most deserving of this appointment and should be permitted to remain in that seat when the Legislature reconvenes. She is the one judge in the Commonwealth who was consistently called upon by the Supreme Court of Virginia to handle the most complex cases, in particular, one of the Washington sniper trials, and more recently, the Charles Severance trial in Alexandria, among others. She is highly respected by both the judiciary with whom she presides as well as the lawyers who practice in front of her. Her reputation as a jurist is unblemished. Her character and qualifications for sitting on the highest court of this Commonwealth are unquestionable. In fact, Speaker Howell and Majority Leader Norment both said in their announcement to unseat her that she was “highly qualified,” a term reserved in the judicial review process for only those candidates of the highest intellect and abilities.
According to the House Clerk, no Virginia Supreme Court justice appointed by the Governor with bi-partisan support after a careful screening process has been unseated by the Legislature in 114 years. Justice Roush was supported by both Republicans and Democrats when the Governor appointed her. She should continue to be supported by Republicans and Democrats when the Legislature reconvenes, just at the Legislature did when it reconvened in 1998, after Justice Cynthia D. Kinser was appointed by then-Governor George Allen.
We are not alone in our outrage. See the following editorials from papers across the Commonwealth:
http://valawyersweekly.com/2015/08/06/editorial-dont-fire-justice-roush/
http://www.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/article_0449845e-b46c-5329-b414-9c39c01f8884.html
As we have heard from several attorneys which bears repeating, “I understand that the General Assembly is allowed to vote on whether it will bless the governor’s selected justice; but just because the Legislature has that authority does not mean that it should summarily remove and displace a long-term public servant who has served with distinction. She is highly qualified and there is truly no basis for her removal.”
Do Not Fire Justice Roush!
Photo Credit to Bob Brown from the Associated Press
The Issue
Friends,
In the past few days, powerful and thoughtful voices all around the Commonwealth have spoken out in favor of the independence and integrity of our state judiciary and the importance of keeping Justice Jane Marum Roush in her seat on the Virginia Supreme Court.
As you may know, Justice Roush was appointed by the Governor to a vacancy on the Virginia Supreme Court in July, with the unanimous support of the Fairfax legislative delegation.
Under our state Constitution, our Virginia Justices are formally elected by the Legislature. But because we have a part-time Legislature that’s only in session for a month or two every year, the Governor routinely appoints Justices to the Supreme Court when the Legislature is not in session.
And for the past 115 years, 31 gubernatorial appointments to the Supreme Court in a row have all been then formally elected by the Legislature. 31 in a row.
Unfortunately, shortly after Justice Roush took her seat, there was a dust-up between the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader of the Senate and the Governor over her appointment and whether the Governor’s office should have done more to consult directly with the leadership of the House and Senate.
Apparently, after several twists and turns, that game of political finger-pointing hasn’t been resolved. As a result, leaders of the General Assembly have – at least at the moment – indicated that they plan to break with more than a century of Virginia tradition and will decline to elect Justice Roush to her current seat in the coming legislative session.
With the legislative session now underway, please lend your voice to this growing public chorus in favor of keeping Justice Roush in her seat on the Supreme Court. If you have the ear of an elected official – bend it.
Share with him or her your concern – that the independence of the judiciary, the stability of the court – is in jeopardy. Explain how a judiciary – independent of partisan politics – protects Virginia citizens and makes Virginia a state attractive to business. They need to hear from you.
Senator John Watkins in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
http://m.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/guest-columnists/article_78ba2373-9264-56d5-b5fd-b2aec5311913.html?mode=jqm
Republican statesman Wyatt Durrette in the Virginian Pilot:
http://pilotonline.com/opinion/columnist/guest/wyatt-durrette-find-a-solution-to-supreme-court-spat/article_7f116b14-87ae-53b9-83de-0586a4432087.html
University of Richmond Law Professor Carl Tobias in the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-the-virginia-legislature-must-elect-roush/2016/01/07/7d8c55b8-b2f8-11e5-9388-466021d971de_story.html
and in the Washington & Lee Law Review:
http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&context=wlulr-online
Former Virginia Attorney General Tony Troy in the Roanoke Times:
http://www.roanoke.com/opinion/commentary/troy-judicial-independence-the-rule-of-law-and-justice-roush/article_84c4c379-5bf1-524e-815f-9bb63e28bdeb.html#.VpX9FHSHJpM.mailto
Paul Fletcher in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly:
http://valawyersweekly.com/2016/01/12/editorial-keep-justice-roush-on-the-high-court/
Jeff Schapiro in the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/jeff-schapiro/article_37a49e13-dc86-5752-acd2-02b9c89b11f0.html
Dahlia Lithwick in Slate:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2016/01/virginia_supreme_court_fight_is_bad_for_justice_and_for_women.html
ORIGINAL PETITION FOLLOWS:
Are you as outraged as we are at the announcement that the Virginia Legislature will unseat Justice Jane Marum Roush?
Justice Roush is most deserving of this appointment and should be permitted to remain in that seat when the Legislature reconvenes. She is the one judge in the Commonwealth who was consistently called upon by the Supreme Court of Virginia to handle the most complex cases, in particular, one of the Washington sniper trials, and more recently, the Charles Severance trial in Alexandria, among others. She is highly respected by both the judiciary with whom she presides as well as the lawyers who practice in front of her. Her reputation as a jurist is unblemished. Her character and qualifications for sitting on the highest court of this Commonwealth are unquestionable. In fact, Speaker Howell and Majority Leader Norment both said in their announcement to unseat her that she was “highly qualified,” a term reserved in the judicial review process for only those candidates of the highest intellect and abilities.
According to the House Clerk, no Virginia Supreme Court justice appointed by the Governor with bi-partisan support after a careful screening process has been unseated by the Legislature in 114 years. Justice Roush was supported by both Republicans and Democrats when the Governor appointed her. She should continue to be supported by Republicans and Democrats when the Legislature reconvenes, just at the Legislature did when it reconvened in 1998, after Justice Cynthia D. Kinser was appointed by then-Governor George Allen.
We are not alone in our outrage. See the following editorials from papers across the Commonwealth:
http://valawyersweekly.com/2015/08/06/editorial-dont-fire-justice-roush/
http://www.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/article_0449845e-b46c-5329-b414-9c39c01f8884.html
As we have heard from several attorneys which bears repeating, “I understand that the General Assembly is allowed to vote on whether it will bless the governor’s selected justice; but just because the Legislature has that authority does not mean that it should summarily remove and displace a long-term public servant who has served with distinction. She is highly qualified and there is truly no basis for her removal.”
Do Not Fire Justice Roush!
Photo Credit to Bob Brown from the Associated Press
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Petition created on August 6, 2015