U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn seems more concerned about protecting his $155,000 per year salary and the $165,000 salary of Michigan Supreme Court justices than support the much-needed and long overdue ethics reform offered by the Reform Michigan Government Now! ballot proposal. Perhaps this is the reason behind the voter rage of which he speaks ("Ballot initiative pushes reverse court-packing," July 14).
Cohn's argument, calling Reform Michigan Government Now's proposal "reverse court-packing" and "arbitrary" is disingenuous and does nothing but promote more of the same broken government mentality.
His admission of partisan Michigan courts should give us all pause. Our Constitution explicitly states that judges are to be nonpartisan and, implicitly, fair and impartial. They are neither.
A recent University of Chicago Law School study of the supreme courts of all 50 states found Michigan's to be the worst. This is hardly a testimony to keep our supreme court intact as suggested by Cohn.
Clearly, our court with seven justices does not work. Reducing its size from seven to five justices makes even more sense considering their caseload has diminished by 17 percent in recent years.
It is indeed a sad day for the citizens of Michigan when state justices place themselves and partisanship above fairness and impartiality. If approved, Reform Michigan Government Now's proposal will change that.
With state judges having a personal and financial stake in its failure, they should step back and allow Michigan voters to decide its fate in November.
Joe Lukasiewicz
Executive Director
Reform Michigan
Government Now!
Hastings