Watchdog groups try to force Texas justices to reveal case-review votes

By The Associated Press

05.26.02

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AUSTIN, Texas — Decrying what it calls "secret justice," a group of watchdog organizations have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force the Texas Supreme Court to disclose how individual justices vote in deciding whether to hear a case.

"In America, secret justice is not acceptable," said Cris Feldman, spokesman for the nonprofit Texans for Public Justice. "How are voters supposed to make intelligent choices when hundreds of the court's decisions are kept secret every year?"

At issue are votes by the state Supreme Court on whether it will make a ruling on a case.

Of about 900 review petitions each year, the civil court typically votes to accept only 11%, according to Texans for Public Justice.

Although the nine justices' stances on rulings delivered by the court are public, the court does not disclose how the justices vote in deciding whether to review an appeal in the first place.

Texas Supreme Court spokesman Osler McCarthy referred questions about the May 21 lawsuit to the attorney general's office, which will defend the case. That office declined comment for this report.

The lawsuit claims the First Amendment gives the public the right to know how the Texas justices voted.

Four justices must agree to review a case for it to go before the court. The justices, who are elected, can voluntarily tell the public how they voted.

The U.S. Supreme Court also does not reveal how its justices vote on "discretionary review" decisions.

The federal lawsuit was filed in Del Rio by Texans for Public Justice, Common Cause, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Texas Observer, Supreme Court candidate Brad Rockwell and citizens from Del Rio and elsewhere.

"We're not trying to get at any internal deliberations of the court," said plaintiffs' attorney Bonnie Tenneriello. "We're just seeking to know where the justices stand."

Because Texas judges raise campaign money from lawyers who appear before them, it is important to know how they vote on appeals, said Suzy Woodford, Texas director of Common Cause.

The National Voting Rights Institute, based in Boston, is representing the plaintiffs, assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The groups filed their lawsuit in Del Rio to demonstrate that the court's decisions affect all voters, Tenneriello said. She would not discuss any other reasons for filing the case there.