Potential conflict for judges

The scales of justice are looking a little off-kilter here in Massachusetts and the Governor’s Council is to blame.

There are eight members of the Governor’s Council, who meet once a week, usually at noon on Wednesdays. Each is elected from their respective districts and their primary role is to confirm judges to the bench.

Astonishingly, six of the eight councilors are currently serving as attorneys, who may directly or indirectly have business in courtrooms in front of the judges they helped install. This obviously creates the potential for a massive conflict of interest and damages the perception of integrity in the judicial system.

It is reasonable to imagine that a judge might feel a level of indebtedness to a lawyer in his courtroom who has elevated his career. Certainly, the knowledge that a lawyer standing before a judge sits on the Governor’s Council could play a role in the judge’s thought-process, decision-making or both.

Obviously, the councilors who are also lawyers find their elected status advantageous, as they advertise it on their law firm websites.

It wasn’t always this way. The law giving council members the right to appear in the courtroom before judges and clerk magistrates who have been approved by the council was passed by the Legislature just 10 years ago. Our legal system is a crucial part of our society and the citizenry must necessarily believe that fair and equal treatment under the law is built into the process. Obviously, this is a giant defect in the process.

The Legislature should work to address this problem immediately before a situation comes to light that undermines the entire system. It is not enough for judges to have the discretion to recuse themselves — the honor system is not a substitute for rules and regulations written into the law.

Also, voters should take into account the fact that there are candidates for the Governor’s Council who are not lawyers and would serve free of any conflicts. Only two of the eight current councilors, Eileen Duff and Marilyn Petitto Devaney, are not lawyers.

We urge lawmakers on Beacon Hill to fix the glitch, and voters to use their best judgment at the polls.