Judge Taylor Participated In $45,000 Donation To The ACLU

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A conflict of interest is coming to light in Judge Taylor’s past. You will recall that Judge Taylor is the one who wrote the idiotic opinion siding with the ACLU over the NSA wiretap case. Now Judicial Watch has found that she help make a $45,000 donation to the ACLU:

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and judicial abuse, announced today that Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, who last week ruled the government’s warrantless wiretapping program unconstitutional, serves as a Secretary and Trustee for a foundation that donated funds to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan, a plaintiff in the case ACLU et al. v. National Security Agency. Judicial Watch discovered the potential conflict of interest after reviewing Judge Diggs Taylor’s financial disclosure statements, available on Judicial Watch’s Internet Site.

According to her 2003 and 2004 financial disclosure statements, Judge Diggs Taylor served as Secretary and Trustee for the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan (CFSEM). She was reelected to this position in June 2005. The official CFSEM website states that the foundation made a “recent grant” of $45,000 over two years to the ACLU of Michigan, a plaintiff in the wiretapping case. Judge Diggs Taylor sided with the ACLU of Michigan in her recent decision.

According to the CFSEM website, “The Foundation’s trustees make all funding decisions at meetings held on a quarterly basis.”

“This potential conflict of interest merits serious investigation,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “If Judge Diggs Taylor failed to disclose this link to a plaintiff in a case before her court, it would certainly call into question her judgment.”

You can view her financial statements here.

This is definately something that needs to be looked into.

UPDATE 2215hrs PST

There has been a flurry of posts about this press release by Judicial Watch since I posted about it this morning, figured I would update you on those who are adding to the story below with my “other’s blogging”. The best analysis so far is coming from many quarters but I will highlight a few. First Allah at Hot Air doesn’t think this will rise to an actual ethics violation:

You shouldn’t need a money trail here to make you believe she was inclined towards the plaintiff. The opinion speaks for itself. But if there simply must be score-settling, this is where it’ll come from. Note in particular Canons 2A, 3C(1)(d)(i) and 5(B)(1). The twist is that she’s not a trustee of one of the parties; she’s a trustee of an organization that helped fund one of the parties. One step removed. Thus it’s a question of the spirit of the law versus the letter.

And Captains Quarters:

As Allahpundit notes, this does not appear to violate the legal canon of ethics, at least not explicitly, but it does seem rather too close for comfort. Many judges probably either belong to the ACLU or have given it support, but in this case it would appear unseemly for Taylor — as an officer of an organization that is a major benefactor — to have presided over a lawsuit the Michigan chapter brought. I doubt she will get any official sanction, but I also think it will dent her reputation than her opinion in the case has already done.

It appears she may be shielded from any kind of ethics violation but it does look and smell fishy.

Other’s Blogging:

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Robert Sedler, a constitutional law professor at Wayne State University who has worked on cases involving the ACLU, said the statement by Judicial Watch had no merit.

“By no stretch of the imagination is this a conflict of interest,” Sedler said, adding that the real motive for the group’s claims may be politics. “Conservative groups are upset that the Bush administration has lost another case in the so-called war on terrorism.”

…..

This is a RAGING conflict of interest. This case was decided long before it was even heard. That, my friends, is NOT justice and never will be in my book! I don’t merely think that Judge Taylor should recuse herself from this case, I think she should recuse herself from the bench…PERIOD!! You and I know that will never happen as long as the courts operate on a wink and a nod basis. I don’t know about you guys, but i don’t need some “informed” legal opinion to know this stinks and should be rounded rejected as an excuse for letting stand that which should never have been brought.

I know the case will probably be overturned, but that does not diminish, in the least, the naked attempts at Judicial sabotage here. We shouldn’t just bypass the critical necessity for impartiality ESPECIALLY with the judge! She is not a Prosecutor and should not assume that role under ANY circumstances!! She is also not an advocate for the Defense!!

Some people seem determined NOT to make a BIG DEAL out of this. I tell you…if this conduct is allowed to continue, we can only blame ourselves for sanctioning it by ignoring it!

Sorry for the rant.

Carol

Boy, that “should” put the hurt to all those liberal loonies…but I wonder if they can even see the conflict of interest. Of course, it would be totally clear to them if a judge that had ruled for the administration (the people)in a case had been such a part of a huge donation to Bush. So, will the MSM even have the guts to print the truth? Probably not w/o skewing the facts emough to somehow try & blame the Republicans, Rove & Bush.

If she excused herself she would just have to onc again find another judge to ensure that the correct verdict was reached. This way saves the time and bother. /s

bRight & Early » First Cup 08.23.06

[…] Flopping Aces (Curt) Judge Taylor Participated In $45,000 Donation To The ACLU — “A conflict of interest is coming to light in Judge Taylor’s past. You will recall that Judge Taylor is the one who wrote the idiotic opinion siding with the ACLU over the NSA wiretap case. Now Judicial Watch has found that she help make a $45,000 donation to the ACLU:” [Read the updates and the links as well. Jim] […]