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OCTOBER 18, 2004
The Proper Role Of Judges First, we should not be surprised that judges begin to act like politicians when they stop being judges and become de facto legislators ("The battle over the courts," News: Analysis & Commentary, Sept. 27). Today's judiciary makes too many public policy decisions that are appropriately made by legislators. Second, we should not be surprised that certain state judges in certain places are blatantly biased in certain of their actions. Alexander Hamilton made the following commonsense observation in The Federalist Papers (No. 80): "No man ought certainly to be judge in his own cause, or in any cause in respect to which he has the least interest or bias. This principle has no inconsiderable weight in designating the federal courts as the proper tribunals for the determination of controversies between different states and their citizens. And it ought to have the same operation in regard to some cases between the citizens of the same state." Many problems you outlined would be much less serious if judges just judged and if significant class action litigation were adjudicated in federal courts. Howard Landis Naples, Fla. As a resident of one of the 12 states with a nonelected judiciary, I would be glad to have the "problem" of the hotly contested elections you describe. You imply that appointing judges somehow eliminates their partisan biases. As we have learned most recently in Massachusetts with the gay marriage issue, it doesn't. It merely immunizes them against public scrutiny and removal from office. The 19th century populist and progressive reformers made direct election of state judges a centerpiece of their efforts to make government accountable to the people. They knew an unelected judiciary is a dagger aimed at the heart of democracy. Far better to know the views of those empowered to rule on key social and political issues in advance than to have those views imposed on us without recourse. John K. Dirlam Wellesley, Mass. Every civics class should be required to read your Cover Story. It's not "sound-bite" journalism -- it encourages readers to consider the very real threat to our system of courts. And, you don't need a lawyer or a teacher to explain it for you. Paul Towber Salinas, Calif. You raised important questions, but your article took an unfair swipe at People for the American Way, suggesting that we help "ambush" judicial nominees with "unsavory biographical details." Our opposition to some -- less than 10% -- of President George W. Bush's judicial nominees has been grounded in their public records and judicial philosophies. Especially for lifetime appeals court judges, who have the final word in most cases, it is senators' constitutional duty to consider a nominee's approach to the laws and Constitution. Ralph G. Neas People for the American Way Washington Sharper Image Is Heading For Sharper Revenues With surprise, I read "Sharper Image needs...a sharper image" (News: Analysis & Commentary, Sept 20). We believe that key positive aspects of the company were overlooked, including our sales trend, which has grown from about $500 million of revenues in 2002, to $650 million in 2003, to this year's estimated nearly $800 million, and our impressive earnings, which we estimate will achieve a third consecutive record year. We are excited about our multi-channel retail business of stores, catalog/direct response, and Internet, and our great growth in wholesale. If all goes as projected, next year we may approach $1 billion of sales, with record earnings. The retail business is unpredictable, but we are pointed toward a goal that we are really working hard to achieve. Rather than point out the areas of reporting with which we disagree, let's focus upon the bottom line: The company is doing very well, and the prospects for continuing to do so are very favorable. Richard Thalheimer Founder and CEO Sharper Image San Francisco   Needed: More Access To Health Insurance I sympathize with small-business owners caught between spiraling health insurance costs and a desire to provide coverage ("Health insurance: Small biz is in a bind," News: Analysis & Commentary, Sept. 27). But my heart really goes out to the millions of American workers who have lost their health coverage because of this crisis. In Nevada, more than one out of five working adults is uninsured, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Most are employed by small businesses that can't afford the double-digit premium increases of the last few years. Their families live in fear of an accident or illness that would ruin them financially. The high cost of health care is also a drag on job creation. We must act now, not later. I have introduced in the U.S. Senate a tax credit that would offset up to half the cost of health insurance premiums paid by small businesses. This measure would expand health insurance coverage and help businesses create more jobs. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Searchlight, Nev.
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