Petitioners seek power to sue judges

By Chet Brokaw, Associated Press Writer | Tuesday, November 08, 2005

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PIERRE - A South Dakota businessman has submitted about 46,800 signatures supporting a ballot measure that would let people sue judges they believe have abused their authority.

On Monday, William Stegmeier of Tea gave the petitions to Secretary of State Chris Nelson and Kea Warne, state election supervisor. If Nelson's office says the petitions have the required 33,456 valid signatures, the proposed constitutional amendment will go to a statewide vote in the November 2006 election.

The measure would strip judges of their traditional immunity from lawsuits related to their judicial acts. People could seek damages or criminal charges against judges they believe have harmed them by deliberately violating the law.

Stegmeier, who owns a business that makes livestock-feed grinders, said judges should be held accountable if they engage in misconduct.

"Right now, for all practical purposes, judges enjoy judicial immunity," Stegmeier said. "Even if they do something wrong, it's virtually impossible to hold them to account."

Opponents contend that the measure is not needed because state circuit judges' errors can be corrected by normal appeals to the South Dakota Supreme Court. And if judges are guilty of misconduct, they can be voted out of office or disciplined by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission, opponents argue.

Opponents also say the measure could lead to problems because the special grand jury that would handle complaints against judges could ignore the law or apply it differently in different cases.

Stegmeier said the Judicial Qualifications Commission isn't effective because it is tied closely to the legal profession. Most people do not know how to contact that commission, he said.

Judges should be held accountable when they act outside the law or their jurisdiction, Stegmeier said. "I'm sure most complaints will be thrown out."

Stegmeier said judges sometimes abuse their authority by preventing people from offering key evidence in trials. Judges should allow people to argue that even though something may be a technical violation of the law, it would be wrong to apply that law in the case, he said.