hey WA voters, if you might vote for Richard Sanders

[eub]

Check this shit out.

(Also, if you might vote for giant BIAW tool James Johnson... wait, wtf, seriously? Well he's in here with a "poverty pimp" contribution too.)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013226310_justices22m.html^*

Shirley Bondon, an AOC manager who oversees programs to remove barriers in the legal system, said that during the discussion she told the justices that she believed there was racial "bias in the criminal-justice system, from the bottom up."

Bondon, 50, who is African American, said Sanders told others to turn to a page in the report that listed barriers to the justice system, including age, race, disability and other factors.

Sanders asked for the name of anyone who was in prison because of one of the barriers, according to Bondon and others who attended the meeting.

Sanders also stated that he didn't believe the barriers existed, except for poverty because it might restrict the ability to afford an attorney, Bondon said.
[...]
Sanders, in an interview, said he has a reputation for standing up for those accused of crimes but that he hasn't seen evidence that African Americans are disproportionately imprisoned because of race.

He said his concern was for "individuals," and that if someone is in prison for any reason other than committing the crime, "I want to hear about it."

But statistics aren't proof, he said.

^*Seattle Times comments section on this story: DO NOT ENGAGE

Comments

[bork.livejournal.com]

I voted last night, and voted for the one running opposed to Sanders. I went to an 'election party' in my neighborhood, and the 4 of us who attended came to the consensus that Sanders is a fantastic douche. And that was before these comments came to light.

(I don't remember who I voted for in the other race.)

[lakmiseiru.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the article in the Stranger? The first paragraph really says it all:

"Washington State Supreme Court justice Richard B. Sanders describes himself as a defender of civil rights and civil liberties even though he’s anti-choice, was "not a fan" of Martin Luther King Jr., once showed up at a party in a Nazi uniform, and in 2006, signed an opinion denying marriage equality to gay couples—because they have "more sexual partners" and because other courts have found that monogamy is "the bedrock upon which our culture is built." Meanwhile, he’s been divorced twice, and this election season it became clear he has multiple simultaneous girlfriends. He doesn’t see anything inconsistent in any of that."

[eub.livejournal.com]

There are a lot of nails in this coffin. :)

To me there is something especially damning about a judge being unable to see systematic problems in access to justice. And unable not just as a mistake but as a principle, because he won't consider statistics valid.