A scale and gavel
Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick is facing a formal complaint after a public education advocacy group said he violated the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct.
Bolick is alleged to have actively campaigned at a Republican Party event, where he pledged to keep “fighting for conservative principles,” according to a report from Politico.
The article also alleges that Bolick stood next to “a cardboard cutout of Trump giving a double thumbs up.” Other allegations include that Bolick “touted” that United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is his child’s godfather as well as his work at the Goldwater Institute, a conservative public policy think tank, and the Reagan Justice Department.
The state's judicial conduct code says, “Judges and judicial candidates must, to the greatest extent possible, be free and appear to be free from political influence and political pressure.”
In response to the allegations, Save Our Schools Arizona filed a complaint to the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct claiming that Bolick violated four rules:
- Rule 2.4: Judges must not be influenced by partisan interests, public pressure, or fear of criticism to maintain public confidence in the judiciary’s independence.
- Rule 3.1: Judges should avoid activities that interfere with their duties, lead to frequent disqualification, or undermine their independence, integrity, or impartiality, and must avoid biased or prejudiced behavior.
- Rule 4.1: Judges and judicial candidates cannot lead political organizations, hold political office, or publicly support political candidates, to ensure their decisions remain based solely on law and facts.
- Rule 4.2: Judicial candidates must always act in a way that upholds the judiciary’s independence, integrity, and impartiality.
“We believe campaigning at a Republican Party event next to a cardboard cutout of former President Trump while demeaning the ‘left’ and a Democratic governor violates the above rules,” Save Our Schools Arizona told AZPM News.
SOSAZ Director Beth says the complaint is necessary to hold justices accountable and ensure they make decisions in the interest of Arizonans, not their political backers.
“It is critical that we're looking at these judges, looking at their records and how they behave in public life to make sure that we have an impartial judiciary.”
She believes that instead of remaining impartial, Bolick has worked to push conservative policies on the bench.
“Bolick is not just somebody who served his time as a lawyer and then served his time as a judge,” Lewis said. “Ducey cherry-picked somebody who ideologically aligned with his far-right views on these matters, and it's shown in his decisions year after year.”
Bolick faces a retention election this year. He was first appointed to the court by former Republican Governor Doug Ducey.
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