Judge's comments on gays protected
By TRACY DASH, sunherald.com from the Web, July 3, 2004
Jackson, MS July 2,-- A George County Justice Court judge who publicly expressed his opinions about homosexuals will not be sanctioned because his comments are protected by the First Amendment, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
In a 5-2 decision, Mississippi's high court chose not to sanction Judge Connie Glenn Wilkerson for saying "gays and lesbians should be put in some type of mental institute..."
Wilkerson made the statements in a March 2002 letter to the editor of the George County Times.
Wilkerson could not be reached Thursday for comment. However, he said in 2002 that the letter represented his feelings as a human, not as a judge.
Wilkerson, who has served as a justice court judge for eight years, said in 2002 the letter was in response to a national news story published in The Mississippi Press about a lesbian suing the owners of a dog that attacked and killed her partner.
He said he was expressing his opinion about a California law that grants partners the same right to sue as spouses or family members.
Shortly after the judge's statements, Lambda Legal, a national gay and lesbian rights organization, filed an ethics complaint with the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance in Jackson.
The commission, which investigates allegations of judicial misconduct, asked the state Supreme Court to sanction Wilkerson for his statements.
The commission charged the judge with willful misconduct and breaching canons, or rules, of the Code of Judicial Conduct of Mississippi.
Justice Jess Dickinson, writing for the court, said the statements made by the judge in this case constitute religious and political/public issue speech specially protected by the First Amendment.
"We endorse the canons, and we certainly endorse the promotion of an impartial judiciary," Dickinson wrote.
"We also find, however, that the objects of judicial prejudice are entitled to seek a level playing field through recusal motions, and citizens who disagree with a judge's views are entitled to voice their disagreement at the ballot box."
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