What happens when...
Venue Changes: Take Our Poll
What happens when locally elected judges do not have the opportunity to decide important Washington state issues because lawmakers force these issues into Thurston County? What happens when the ultimate issues at hand are put on hold because a case is forced to Thurston County? What happens when local judges avoid deciding constitutional case because the case “belongs” in Thurston County? What happens when all divisions of the state courts are not included in rule-making?
Hello SMF family! These questions arise out of what SMF is seeing with our challenges to laws that infringe on our constitutionally guaranteed rights. As you may already know, our HB1705 and HB1240 (each a Right to Bear Arms case) challenges were moved out of the counties they were filed in - Grant and Stevens - to Thurston County. This means that issues arising in other counties in Washington are being decided by judges only elected by Thurston County voters, effectively removing the voice of the people in the impacted counties. In the video below, Pete Serrano and Rob Waites of SMF and Marshall Casey (Spokane attorney) discuss the issues arising out of these repeated venue changes.
Silent Majority Foundation (SMF) is a 501(c)(3) organization centered on protecting America's constitution and theological foundation. As founders of SMF, we support, protect and defend the constitution of our United States through education, advocacy, and litigation efforts. SMF will always focus on God and Country as the core of our mission.
Thank you, gentlemen, for elucidating this issue. I hadn’t thought of several of these angles. An additional means of excluding voters’ wishes arises when a superior court judge leaves the bench before his or her term expires (perhaps by design), and the *governor* appoints the replacement, who then has an advantage at the next election. Thus the governor has additional power in crafting the composition of the Washington judiciary.
I believe that the system has been and currently remains broken. However, I continue to have hope that the fight is not over. I have experienced the first-hand removal of .... so help me God" after swearing to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. I have experienced lawyers stating, "If we disciplined each person that lied under oath each time the person lied under oath, we would not get anywhere." (Lawyer) I watched as lie after lie was caught and nothing was done to enforce the law. This is why we are dealing with a broken system that has turned its back on the laws and the Constitution. Keep up the hard work, my friends as our children depend on us to create a better future.