Letter: Legislators, judges policing themselves is a major problem

Cindi Ross Scoppe of The State is diligent about assessing the serious lack of ethics transparency in the S.C. House and Senate. I was heartened to read that she believes some progress is being made. But why should we only hope for progress when these representatives should be accountable to the people who elect them? They preserve their obscurity because they have the power to do so.

No profession or institution is immune to corruption — just look at Wall Street, professional sports, the Catholic church—when they have the means to manipulate what should be public knowledge. And no profession or institution has displayed a genuine ability to self-police —especially the legal and political communities, which often overlap.

For a book I’m writing about judicial corruption in family courts across the nation, I examined the most recent seven annual reports of an oversight and disciplinary office funded by taxpayers. I found 403 complaints filed regarding D.C. judges between 2007 and 2014. Only one complaint resulted in “formal disciplinary proceedings.” Does that seem reasonable?

Out of 403 schoolboys sent to the principal’s office, how many can one imagine might be let off? Of 403 malpractice complaints against physicians, how many are dismissed? Are we to believe that judges — and politicians — are above corruption and malfeasance and therefore deserve the privilege to self-police? It isn’t reasonable or realistic, given what we know about human nature. Why then, do we continue to allow it when we have the power to demand genuine reform?

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Letter: Legislators, judges policing themselves is a major problem."