Bird Should Not Resign From Supreme Court

Frank del Olmo’s article (Editorial Pages, June 13), “The Net Cast for Rose Bird Tightens Around Reynoso,” discussed the campaign to retain Justice Cruz Reynoso on the California Supreme Court. The thrust of his article is that the chief justice should resign in order to save the job of the only Latino on the Supreme Court. No mention is made of the fact that Rose Elizabeth Bird is the first and only woman on the California Supreme Court.

One must question why Del Olmo attaches such significance to the appointment of the first Latino on the Supreme Court and so little to the first woman.

Some of his reasoning is even more offensive than the sexist inferences that may be drawn. The quote that “legal ethics do not win political campaigns; votes do” is incredible. Do we really want our Supreme Court justices to behave like politicians, and unethical ones, at that? Perhaps the Latino attorneys whom Del Olmo criticizes for not asking the chief justice to resign realize something that he does not. It is minorities and minority viewpoints that are the primary beneficiaries of an independent judiciary. The courts must be insulated from majority rule politics in order to make ethical decisions that protect minority rights.

Bar associations throughout the state, including Women Lawyers’ Assn. of Los Angeles, are supporting the retention of all of the Supreme Court justices because, among other things, we believe that the judiciary must be independent of politics and free to make decisions based on good legal reasoning rather than vote-gaining potential.

The primary significance of the retention election of the Supreme Court justices is whether California will continue to have a Supreme Court that is independent from political considerations. No matter whether one likes the decisions of Chief Justice Bird, no one can accuse her of deciding cases in order to appeal to voters. May no one ever be able to accuse any justice of the California Supreme Court of deciding cases on such a basis.

MARGARET S. HENRY

Torrance

Henry is president of Women Lawyers’ Assn. of Los Angeles.