Actions speak louder than words

Aesop is usually credited with the quote "actions speak louder than words." Not apparent in the quote but apparent in the fable is the specter of hypocrisy when one's actions do not comport with their words. And so it was when I watched Judge Brutinel's interview before the Judicial Nominating Commission as he applied for Supreme Court Justice.

As a Christian Evangelist, I prefer to think it's a basic Biblical principle, if not common Biblical sense, that actions should speak louder than words. You know, we're supposed to "'Walk the Talk' instead of simply Talking the Talk." Unbelievers are quick to call us hypocrites when our actions don't follow our words. And rightly so. Can you blame them when, for example, wives leave their husbands before "death do us part" and the church nods approval? Pharisees are everywhere.

For some reason, even the most cynical of us are especially aghast when our politicians fail to follow through on their campaign promises, even though a vast majority of them do all the time. I guess we figure they promised something so publicly, they couldn't possibly be lying. We're told, "Read my lips. No new taxes." And we believe it. But then they increase our taxes anyway. We feel betrayed. Lied to.

But we should expect politicians to lie to us. After all, they have something to gain by lying. Election brings power... and apparently, money. (Why else would someone spend untold millions of dollars to get a job that only pays a hundred thousand?)

On the other hand, even though judges in Arizona are de facto politicians after they're initially appointed, they generally don't make campaign promises. For one, most of them run uncontested, either by definition, in retention elections, or by practice in contested elections without a challenger.

Even if they made promises, it's not like they can appeal to our greed, promising us "a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage." So what could they lie to us about? And too, they wear black robes. Kind of priestly. (By design?) So we expect judges to be more honest than the run-of-the-mill politician. But should we?

While a judge's pay isn't that great (assuming no bribes), there's still the allure of power and prestige, which, while not a temptation for me, is apparently very tempting for some. And there's job security. Look how long Judge Hinson broke the law before anyone did anything.

Again, like the run-of-the-mill politician, why would a someone want to be a judge when they can make so much more money in private practice?

It could be that maybe they wouldn't do that well in private practice. A Peter Principle type thing. I'll overlook that for now, but consider: we'd have better cops if we paid higher salaries to get the cream of the crop. (The average cop has a C+ high school GPA.) You get what you pay for, and you have to wonder about the caliber of our judges. You already know about the caliber of our regular politicians.

So I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when Judge Brutinel made the following statements during his interview. But I was.

These aren't campaign promises, per se. But Judge Brutinel's statements to the Commission portend the future. I was surprised when he talked about being bound by the 60-day Rule. (Boy, that must have been Freudian - do you suppose something was on his mind then?) And he admitted that as a Superior Court judge and a Presiding judge... I am responsible for the court system in Yavapai County. And he told the Commission,

what I really try to accomplish as a trial judge is to have people leave the courthouse believing that I had listened to them, that when they left the courthouse they believed that they'd been heard... that the judge considered what they had to say and made the best decision that he could.

Hmmm... how can he have hoped to accomplish that when a judge is breaking the law himself?

Remember, while Judge Brutinel was Presiding Judge, responsible for the court system in Yavapai county, his subordinate, Judge Hinson, was violating the civil rights of numerous litigants. For years, as revealed by the Commission on Judicial Conduct. But Judge Brutinel didn't make a stink about Judge Hinson, as he was required by law to do.

Unfortunately, the facts show Judge Brutinel's actions did not comport with his actions. I'm sorry, but that makes him a hypocrite.

Jesus called the Pharisees of His time hypocrites. Ironically, they wore robes too!

Sadly, it looks like the Pharisees are still with us.

I began this blog being gracious, saying I didn't think Judge Brutinel qualified for Supreme Court Justice at this time. But as more evidence comes in, from his own mouth, I don't think he's qualified to be Presiding Judge. I think it's time for a replacement.