Call me naive but I didn’t. Not exactly.
Yet just after I posted the thing about the Supreme Court, I picked this up from the Brennan Center, about what happened to a Michigan State Supreme Court judge (appointed by a Republican) over a major (I mean major) case about a voter-initiated ballot proposal on redistricting, i.e., gerrymandering:
STATE COURTS
Michigan Justice Says She Faced “Bullying and Intimidation” Over Redistricting Case
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Clement said she faced “bullying and intimidation” while considering a case about whether a voter-initiated redistricting proposal could go on the November ballot.
Clement, appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, will face challengers to remain on the bench in November. She told The Detroit News that “outside interests” seeking to block the redistricting reform proposal from the ballot pressured her as she was considering the case. Clement ultimately voted with the majority to approve the ballot measure, which was opposed by state Republicans.
According to The Detroit News, following Clement’s decision, “the Michigan Republican Party…left her name and photo off door hangers distributed by volunteers,” although the hangers listed every other statewide Republican candidate. Clement called this decision “unprecedented.” The Michigan Republican Party “would not say whether Clement would be excluded from future literature.”
Michigan Supreme Court Justice David Viviano criticized the pressures Clement faced, arguing, “People are entitled to their own viewpoints on how a case should be decided. But it is inappropriate to direct those views at a member of the court while the case is being decided.”
P.S. You did notice the judge is a woman, right? Yet she persisted…