Judges for God Lose Election

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Guest Contributor

You know how judges are supposed to be impartial?

It looks like a slate of candidates for San Diego Superior Court ran as “Judges for God”:

Craig Candelore, Larry “Jake” Kincaid, Bill Trask and Harold J. Coleman Jr…. were backed by pastors, gun enthusiasts, and opponents of abortion and same-sex marriages.

Say goodbye to fairness for non-Christians in the courtroom and church/state separation, right?

Not so.

All four of them lost the race. (The incumbents won.)

Hallelujah.

The incumbents, especially in races for judges, tend to win — normally, I don’t like to see that, but in this case, I’m glad it played out like it did.

To paraphrase Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin:

Judge, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You didn’t place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.

(Thanks to Jeffrey for the link!)

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  • Hitch

    The assault on the legal system is some of the more scary aspects of the christian revival since Reagan.

    One can do some serious damage through text book revisionism and people running for (and succeeding to become) governors.

    But the legal system is our primary defense mechanism. The moment the court, especially the high up ones have too many of the more extreme folks on, we are in trouble.

  • Jagyr

    My preference: hand on the Constitution, swearing to uphold it.

    But as long as they follow through on the “upholding” part, I can’t complain too much.

  • http://findingmyfeminism.blogspot.com/ Not Guilty

    And that is why I am eternally grateful that Canada does not have elected judges. I do not trust the population to make intelligent choices. That is so scary.

  • VXbinaca

    While I’m an Atheist and am glad the judges didn’t make it, the gun-owner in me wanted them to win.

    How conflicted I feel. It also isolates me from other Atheists.

  • Welah

    Ah! So, since they had the blessing of God, who could have won them the election if he wanted, and they didn’t, they are now fully aware of and accepting of the fact that God just didn’t want them in that position for some ineffable reason. (Perhaps because he prefers rational, impartial judges himself?)

    This known, they will no doubt now retire, peaceful that they did what they could and make no more fuss about it.

    Right?

  • http://www.frommormontoatheist.blogspot.com Leilani

    The second anyone runs for a god instead of their country and fellow Americans, they should lose their chance. It’s scary to think that if this would have happened in a state that leans more Red, that they may have won…

    Crazy delusional dingbats.

  • http://www.thatdumbatheistguy.blogspot.com AJ

    I would hate to live somewhere where elected officials were getting advice from their imaginary friend. Oh, wait, George Bush already did that. My bad.

  • jasonorlandohawk

    Whether it was deliberate or unintentional, I’ve just got to say that seeing an atheist use the term “hallelujah” has brought a dramatic amount of humor into my life.

  • Hitch

    Amen.

  • jcm

    Yay!

  • http://www.twitter.com/anattakarma Brandon

    “Victory is mine!” –Stewie Griffin

  • Alex Fredrick

    Everyone talks as thought the courts are in good shape and that not having christian men on the bench saved the day. Well you all must not know that are courts are in bad shape, and it is due to the fact that judges are appointed to the bench and not elected per the California Constitution, see the judicial surveys below. I also see no cause to dismiss why none of the sitting judges mentioned their faith or lack of faith, So we condemn the candidates on their faith but do not question or ask why none of the sitting judges ever discuses their faith or lack of faith. One could only speculate that the Union Tribune, The County Bar and the Firms that supported the sitting judges, were their special interest groups! Also the AP story by Julie Watson was completely false and she must have been paid by the judges to make those statements, visit http://www.candeloreforjudge.com. I would like to see an article on why the sitting judges asked for and accepted campaign contributions from large firms and attorneys, O and not to mention, even the City Attorney and District Attorney were there helping the judges get money? Sounds like a conflict of interest, well yes it is? Here is real news on the very problem: http://www.sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/juris_prudence/9212/

    A. Elkins Report: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/jc/tflists/elkins.htm

    B. Trust and Confidence in the California Courts: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/reference/documents/4_37pubtrust1.pdf (see pages 17,27 &28)

    C. Commission for Impartial Courts: Final Report 2009: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/jc/tflists/commimpart.htm (see pages 37, 38, 60, 74, 102-106)
    .

  • Dan W

    Good. We don’t need more fundies in government offices than we already have in the U.S. So many fundamentalist Christians complain about “activist judges” pushing a liberal agenda. People like the four “Judges for God” who lost the election would be better described as “activist judges”- for they are the ones who intend to make rulings that blatantly defy the Constitution.