‘The Wrong Message’

Your editorial makes a totally improper assumption of the message the California voters may be sending to future jurists by “dumping” Bird, Reynoso or Grodin. Just possibly, the voters may be expressing their belief that these justices are out of touch with their judiciary responsibility, and are rather more inclined to base decisions on their liberal political sympathies, regardless of the statement and/or intent of the law.

It seems to me that the laws of our state have provided the people with this opportunity to pass judgment on the competence of our Supreme Court justices every 12 years so that it is not necessary to continue an incompetent judge’s term for life, once their performance has been evaluated, over a sufficiently long period, to establish their judicial character.

A judge whose vote is consistently in sympathy with the liberal ( or conservative) political platform--regardless of the law and its constitutional application--would seem to be suspect of acting more in a political than a judicial manner.

KENNETH N. HURST

Lawndale