Important Issues to Consider Before Voting

By Thomas Spielbauer

Discussed are 9 important issues which each voter should consider before voting in this judicial race.

1. The PBS documentary, Justice for Sale, demonstrates the corrupting aspects of campaign contributions in judicial elections. Mr. Spielbauer pledged at the beginning of this campaign NOT to accept any financial contributions. This campaign will be financed solely out of his personal resources. This commitment eliminates the possibility of judicial influence peddling, at least for his candidacy. Thomas Spielbauer takes full responsibility for his independence as your judge.

Money contributions has come up before. In 1996, Judge Edward Lee spoke out against taking contributions from lawyers. Thomas Spielbauer has gone further in this election by not taking contributions from anyone. This stand for judicial integrity has been publicly acknowledged by civic leaders in published letters in the San Jose Mercury News, one leader who called Mr. Spielbauer Unbuyable Tom and another who discussed the corrosive aspects of such contributions and the ethical integrity of Mr. Spielbauer.

Mr. Spielbauer's opponent, however, thinks otherwise. See for yourself. When you do, click on the name of Ash Pirayou. Additionally, you can review the most recent campaign financing statements by clicking here.

"I can't think of a clearer conflict of interest than a judge taking cash from plaintiffs or defendants. That's about as direct a conflict of interest as we can have in our political system. The idea that a judge could take cash from them and issue an 'objective' ruling is complete hogwash."
-Charles Lewis, Executive Director of the Center for Public Integrity

"If an attorney gives money to a judge with the expectation that the judge will rule in his interest or his client's interest, that is corrosive of our institutions. It's corrosive of judicial independence."
-United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy

"The current system is troubling not only for people who worry about appearing before a judge who was underwritten by the opposing party or counsel but for anybody who has to live under the precedents being set by judges hand-picked by moneyed interests ...."
-Sheila Kaplan and Zoë Davidson of Nation Magazine

2. Personal responsibility is the foundation of Mr. Spielbauer's values. Personal responsibility is the flip side of the coin of and is essential to freedom. As your judge, Mr. Spielbauer will apply the concept of personal responsibility to all ligitants in our legal system, be they individuals, government or corporate. The concept of personal responsibility has long been a Libertarian (as well as Green and American Reform) concept.

It is worthwhile to compare and contrast the values each of the judicial candidates have declared. Thomas Spielbauer's Statement of Principles is clear and straightforward. What principles do each of the other judicial candidates stand for? Who are they, really? In trying to get a grasp on the answer to this question, the San Jose Mercury News Candidate Profiles may be of some help.

Recently, the San Jose Metro reported that Thomas Spielbauer is in favor of education rather than incarceration when it comes to personal drug usage. Consider in coming to your own personal views the devastating effect that America's War on Drugs has had on our Constitutional Freedoms.

Thomas Spielbauer advocates an Elected Public Defender as a powerful means of balancing state power in favor of its citizens. His efforts in this matter have been extraordinary and say much about the man. Go to the Elect Our Public Defender web site to understand why and how.

Thomas Spielbauer has long been an advocate of citizen empowerment when citical issues are at stake. He demonstrated this in his 1996 letter to the Business Journal and recently in his interview with the Palo Alto Daily News, which was published on February 7, 2000.

3. On the issue of judicial integrity and the judiciary's relationship to our community, please read the article published in the January 27th edition of the Palo Alto Daily. It is important to consider. The San Jose Metro subsequently discussed this matter. A registered voter explained in an email to San Jose Mercury News editor Rob Elder why disclosure is important (but has not and apparently will not occur).

4. The San Jose Mercury News has issued its endorsements, with a cloud of controversy surrounding them. To get the full picture of this saga, to include a glimpse at the possible agendas involved, click here.

5. In October 1998, the San Jose Mercury News ran a series of articles outlining concerns about the efficiency of the criminal justice system and the golfing activities of some judges. The incumbent (Thomas C. Hastings), who is retiring, was actually a chief spokesperson justifying the relaxed Friday schedule. Thomas Spielbauer agrees with the contrary positions stated by Judge Danner, Judge Teihl and Judge Stone in the articles.

6. An effective way of supporting Thomas Spielbauer in this election is to pass out available campaign (business-size) cards encouraging people to vote for Mr. Spielbauer. Judicial elections are notorious for the lack of enthusiasm they generate. Most people rely on the recommendation of someone else in judicial elections, frequently the major newsmedia. For this reason, your personal recommendation can be extremely influential.

These cards make it easy to provide your recommendation. (Someone once called them ice-breakers.) Click here to see the available card. Then advise us as to how many cards you would like, without cost, by completing the feedback form or by otherwise contacting us.

The distribution of these cards follows a very effective strategy which the Libertarian Party has used in West Virginia. This election strategy makes the dissemination of these cards fun, provides guidance on their distribution, and maximizes their effect. Click here to see an excellent memorandum on how to utilize such cards.

7. The Harvard Law Review note, Practice and Potential of the Advisory Jury, is a comprehensive article which discusses the substantial advantages and significant benefits of enrolling jury participation into legal arenas which have traditionally been the domain of judges sitting alone. Mr. Spielbauer is not the author. This article was included with Thomas Jefferson's admonition in mind, which was:

Were I called upon to decide whether the people had best be omitted in the Legislative or Judiciary department, I would say it is better to leave them out of the Legislature. The execution of the laws is more important than the making [of] them.
-Letter of Thomas Jefferson to L'Abbe Arnond (July 19,1789), reprinted in 5 THE WORKS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON 48 (Fed. ed.1904).

8. The motion in limine for an advisory jury is a motion which was initially written for a juvenile dependency proceeding. However, it can easily be adapted to a criminal proceeding or any legal action where a jury trial by right does not attach. It is a practical application of the Practice and Potential of the Advisory Jury.

9. Aurelia N. is a brief which Thomas Spielbauer wrote and filed with the United States Supreme Court in a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari. The petition raises interesting legal issues. One concerns the right of foreign nations (as parens patriae) over their citizen children who are in the United States. What should happen when a county social service agency removes these foreign national children from their parents? Thereafter, should that same agency permit American foster parents to adopt these foreign national children over objection of the foreign nation? It also discusses the relationship of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to this situation.