JACKSON — Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Charles “Chuck” Easley has qualified to run for two state Supreme Court seats from the state’s Northern District — the one he has held since 2000 and the seat Justice Ann Hannaford Lamar of Senatobia was appointed to in 2007.
Since Easley can’t legally occupy both of those seats on the bench of the state’s highest court, why would a judge who wanted to be taken seriously resort to such a self-serving tactic — one that followed to its logical extreme could force the taxpayers to foot the bill for a special election?
Easley has told the press that he’s qualified to seek both judicial posts in order to make a statement “about special interest groups wanting appointed judges. Mississippians should always have the right to vote for their judges.”
Calling the current court “too liberal” and suggesting that it “bends over backwards for criminals,” Easley told his hometown newspaper that he qualified for two Supreme Court seats to protest how governors appoint judges when mid-term vacancies occur, he said.
“I want voters to maintain the right to elect their judges,” Easley told The Columbus Commercial Dispatch on Saturday. “It seems to be whoever the governor wants to get appointed. It’s just cronyism at its worst.”
The justice has a point, of sorts. The present nine-member state Supreme Court has five justices first placed there by governors. Lamar was appointed to take the place of the retiring Justice Kay Cobb.
In Easley’s remarks to the Columbus newspaper, there’s also the suggestion of a little crass sexism as well.
In 2000, Easley defeated then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Lenore Prather of Columbus — the first female justice to serve on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Prather was first appointed in 1982 by then-Gov. William Winter to fill a vacancy.
Capitol reporter John Mott Coffey quoted Easley as saying that in tapping Justice Lamar for the vacancy created when Justice Cobb stepped down, Gov. Haley Barbour made a “politically correct” appointment to ensure the Supreme Court had at least one female member.
“Gov. Barbour just pulled her out of the air,” Easley said of Lamar, a former district attorney and circuit court judge.
Of course, a year ago when Lamar was appointed, Easley was talking out of another side of his mouth. In an official Supreme Court press release dated May 9, 2007, Easley called Lamar “a superb addition to the court.”
Easley was quoted as saying: “She (Lamar) has an excellent record. She is very experienced and very qualified. I’ve heard lawyers all over the northern part of the state comment that she is an excellent judge. I look forward to working with her. She is a superb addition to the court.”
The Mississippi Legislature adopted a new law this session to prevent candidates from seeking two offices at the same time that takes effect July 1, but Easley has said that law didn’t apply to him because he qualified to run prior to that effective date.
Both the state Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of State’s Office have indicated that Easley can’t pursue the path of seeking two seats on the Supreme Court at the same time. Certainly, it’s difficult to see Barbour or Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann agreeing to sanction such a plan when they meet as part of the state Election Commission.
Easley has hinted at withdrawing from one race at some point in the future, but he’s still legally qualified in both races.
State voters singularly unimpressed with the “statement” Easley’s making — particularly women voters — might be well-served to send Easley a message of their own by voting for other candidates in both races.
Perhaps a new judge who has a modicum of respect for women?
