Punishment in order for Justice Sanders

State Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders has gotten himself into hot water once again — this time for heckling the attorney general of the United States.

Justice Sanders is well schooled on the law, but has a hard time understanding what is appropriate behavior and what is not. It's time for the state Commission on Judicial Conduct to investigate Sanders' latest shenanigans and determine an appropriate punishment.

Sanders just doesn't get it.

On Jan. 26, 1996, within minutes of being sworn in as a jurist on the Washington Supreme Court, Sanders walked across the parking lot and addressed those in attendance at an anti-abortion rally.

The Commission on Judicial Conduct, the state agency responsible for investigating complaints of misconduct by the judiciary, found that Sanders, by speaking at the anti-abortion rally, violated rules requiring judges to remain impartial on matters that might be heard by the court.

On May 12, 1997, Sanders was reprimanded by the commission.

An appeal

The Supreme Court justice appealed the reprimand to the Supreme Court, where he sits as one of nine jurists. On April 28, 1998, nine judges from the state Court of Appeals, standing in for the high court to avoid a conflict of interest, unanimously overturned the commission. The panel of justices said nothing Sanders said or did at the March for Life rally indicated he would be unwilling or unable to be impartial if faced with a case involving abortion rights.

Sanders was back in the headlines in 2003. On Jan. 23, he took an educational tour of the treatment facility for violent sexual predators at the McNeil Island Special Commitment Center. Sanders was warned in advance that he would come into contact with inmates and was cautioned by fellow justices that he might be stepping over an ethical line.

Sanders went anyway and as part of the tour, ended up speaking with inmates whose cases were pending before the court.

Once again the Commission on Judicial Conduct investigated and, this time in a split vote, admonished Sanders for his actions. An admonishment is a less severe punishment than a reprimand.

The commission said Sanders violated one judicial canon that requires a judge to "uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary." They said he also violated Canon 2, which says "judges should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of their activities."

That canon goes on to say "judges should respect and comply with the law and should act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary."

A third investigation

Sanders might well find himself hauled before the Commission on Judicial Conduct for a third time in 12 years to determine whether he violated Canon 2 in his recent public confrontation with U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

After initially skirting questions from reporters, Sanders now admits that he shouted "Tyrant! You are a tyrant!" during a speech by Mukasey at a recent meeting of the Federalist Society in Washington, D.C. Mukasey was defending the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies and ended up collapsing at the podium.

When questions arose about the shouting, Sanders initially avoided answering directly. On Monday he said that he wasn't around when Mukasey collapsed. But he wouldn't comment on Internet articles naming him as the heckler.

By late Tuesday afternoon, Sanders had drafted a statement. Asked why he took so long to clarify what had happened, he said, "I thought it through. I think that it's best that all the facts be there, and there's no reason not to lay it all out."

Sanders said he thought his Tuesday admission to the outburst would end the controversy over it.

Not even close.

Under state law, the Commission on Judicial Conduct has the authority to launch its own investigation when a judge's actions have been called into question. Sanders' boorish behavior certainly warrants an investigation. We don't have huge confidence he will learn from his mistakes. His two previous brushes with the judicial watchdog organization proves that. Nonetheless, the commission is obligated to take actions that demonstrate a willingness to uphold the standard of judicial behavior the public expects.

Punishment in order for Justice Sanders