February 13, 2006

Republicans and Democrats agree that the South Dakota Judicial Accountability proposal is a bad idea, as that state's House of Representatives has passed a concurrent resolution condemning the ballot initiative.

As previously reported, the J.A.I.L. initiative, would strip South Dakota judges of their immunity for official acts and subject them to lawsuits based upon decisions made as judges.

Although there are numerous theoretical problems with the initiative, one of the greatest is that it would subject judges to personal liability for "deliberate disregard of material facts". Because the presence of a genuine issue of material fact is at issue in nearly every motion for summary judgment, such a change in the law could subject every judge in that state to liability for every decision to grant (or deny) summary judgment in every case.