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Tainted Justice Press |
Judge Roth named in complaint
Group questions ethics of work
for foundation
Delaware News Journal
March 23, 2004
Sean O'Sullivan
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A Washington D.C.-based watchdog group has filed ethics complaints
against three federal judges, including U.S. Third Circuit Court
of Appeals Judge Jane Richards Roth.
Community Rights Counsel, a public interest law firm, has questioned
Roth's participation on the board of the nonprofit Foundation
for Research on Economics and the Environment, based in Montana.
The group wants Roth and two other judges to step down from
the board.
Roth said the group's complaint is groundless and she will continue
her association with the foundation, which has produced well-balanced
education programs for judges. "I feel the program is to
be commended for the nature of the programs it produces and
for its ability to incorporate an examination and discussion
of all sides," she said.
The foundation describes itself as "an organization devoted
to social change that harmonizes environmental quality with
responsible liberty and economic progress" that seeks alternative
solutions to environmental problems.
"When Bill was alive both he and I were members,"
said Roth, the widow of longtime Delaware Sen. Bill Roth. "We
are both greatly interested in the environment and in no way
did we feel this organization presents a biased view of environmental
or economic issues."
Roth said the foundation is not involved in lobbying or litigation,
and presents no conflict for her as a judge.
Doug Kendall, executive director of the Community Rights Counsel,
said Roth's participation is not illegal but it "undermines
public trust in the judiciary and reflects adversely on her
impartiality."
Kendall described the foundation as a group that tries to influence
judges' opinions by luring them to one-sided, industry-friendly
seminars in Montana with free airfare and "time for cycling,
fishing, golfing, hiking and horseback riding," a vacation
worth $10,000. Seminars such as "The Environment: A CEO's
Perspective," Kendall said, "take conservative judges
and give them a road map on how to advance their philosophical
leanings."
John A. Baden, foundation chairman, said that while the group
accepts corporate donations, most of its support comes from
foundations. "We work with the Environmental Defense Fund.
I've spent my entire career ... encouraging conservation and
nature conservancy," said Baden.
Among the corporations that fund the foundation are ExxonMobil,
GE Fund, Maguire Oil Co. and Pfizer International, according
to the group's Web site.
Baden said the judges' participation on his group's board presents
no ethical conflicts.
The two other federal judges who serve on the foundation board
and were the subjects of ethics complaints are Danny J. Boggs,
chief judge of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Kentucky,
and Douglas Ginsburg, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals
in Washington, D.C.
Reach Sean O'Sullivan at 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com.
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