In Praise Of Leah Ward Sears

[usregimechange]

I see that Stuart Taylor ranks Leah Ward Sears fourth on his handicap list for the Souter seat. She's stepping down as chief justice of the Georgia state Supreme Court. (She'll practice law and be a fellow of the Institute for American Values, a pro-family think-tank.) The three women above her on Stuart's list are all pretty spectacular people. But I had occasion to meet Sears last November and came away thinking, "That woman is going to be on the Supreme Court." At any rate, when President Obama looks her over, he is going to see a very appealing combination of qualities.

• Pro-family progressivism. Sears describes herself, according to sources in Georgia, as a moderate progressive. In criminal cases, she leans pro-defendant but is no ACLUer. She joined the court's majority in voting to overturn Georgia's sodomy law, earning hostility from the social right. But she also joined a unanimous opinion upholding an initiative banning gay marriage.

And she has a pet cause dear to the heart of social conservatives: shoring up the family. I met Sears in November at a conference ("For Children's Sake: A Summit on Marriage and Family") she was hosting with the Institute for American Values. There's an egalitarian family-law movement on the left that wants to equalize all family structures. No way, she says -- as in this 2006 op-ed in the Washington Post. She combines support for marriage with an egalitarian message: "Marriage is in deep danger of becoming about class structure and privilege." She takes her pro-family message to the black community, too. Obama's gotta like that.

http://ninthjustice.nationaljournal.com/2009/05/rauch-move-up-leah-ward-sears.php

[Number23]

1. Okay, wait

I had given up on Sears when I saw that she was leaving to work for the think tank after she retires from the GA Supreme Court this year.

Was that a tad premature?

ETA: It appears that her stance on some issues may cause her grief ie her vote to support an initiative banning gay marriage as well as her friendship with Clarence Thomas. I knew that Sears was a strong marriage proponent, but I did not know that she supported measures banning gay marriage.

[FrenchieCat]

4. can you cite this vote on support of an initiative banning Gay Marriage?

I'd like to see it, as I found information that stated that she was attacked by the Right specifically for her support of Gay Rights during her three elections!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8400109&mesg_id=8400132

[Number23]

7. Yeah, I just found something else too

The article in the OP says that she voted against an initiative to support gay marriage. But I just found two articles that state she is "a strong supporter of gay rights."

Post #5 has the links. A smear campaign perhaps against Ms. Sears??

[Number23]

5. Looks like I'll have to answer my own question

Hey Number23, there appears to be conflicting information. It appears that Sears Ward did vote on an initiative banning gay marriage.

But apparently, that's not even half of the story. I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but Sears has been described by gay rights groups as a "strong supporter" of gay rights.

http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/2009/05/scotus-short-lister-leah-ward-sears-is-strong-on-gay-rights.html

http://www.sovo.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25272

Who knows what to believe anymore?

Your friend,
#23

[FrenchieCat]

9. From the first link.....

The chief justice also wrote the majority opinion and the ended the imprisonment of 21-year-old Genarlow Wilson, who had been serving a 10-year sentence for having consensual oral sex with another teenager when he was 17-years-old. Sears said the harsh sentence was "grossly disproportionate" to the crime, which "did not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children."

[Number23]

16. Thanks, 23. You're aces

Just found something else.

It appears that what Sears voted against was not an initiative banning gay marriage, but an effort to allow "an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage to be placed on the November 2004 ballot."

Also, “in a 1993 divorce case, Van Dyck v. Van Dyck, 425 S.E.2d 853 (Ga. 1993), she wrote that it would be unfair to reduce the alimony of a woman who was cohabiting with her same-sex lover because ‘they are forever denied the numerous legal rights that come with marriage,’” according to the American Bar Association circa March 2005.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/05/15/1933539.aspx

Seems that the article in the OP doesn't provide as much as detail as it could or should with something this complex.

[FrenchieCat]

8. I heard Sears did not retire to join a think tank......

Sears announced in October 2008 that she will resign from the state Supreme Court at the end of June 2009 when her term as Chief Justice ends. Sears was named in January 2009 as one of five finalists to become dean of the University of Maryland School of Law. However, in February 2009, Sears withdrew her name from consideration, in order to pursue other opportunities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah_Ward_Sears

[Number23]

10. According to my "I heart Judge Sears" thread in AAIG

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=258x5577#5663

"Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears announced Wednesday she will join a think tank working on strengthening marriage and the Atlanta office of a Chicago law firm when she steps down from the bench at the end of June."

"...Chief Justice Sears, who has been divorced and later remarried, said in an interview with Morris News Service that failed relationships and children born out of wedlock account for much of the problems that wind up in court. She said family-law cases have grown from 10 percent of Georgia court dockets when Gov. Zell Miller appointed her to the Supreme Court in 1992 to 60 percent of all cases today."

This is getting very confusing. Perhaps all of this subterfuge is to cover up Justice Sears' tracks so no one will see her coming when she slips on the SC Justice robe???

Btw, Frenchie would love to see you post again in AAIG.

[FrenchieCat]

13. Thanks....

I think this quote from her answers the reason why she joined that group. Apparently, she had been attacked by the Right as being "against Marriage".....

“I’ve always been labeled a liberal judge, I’ve been labeled a way liberal judge, and I’ve actually fought three hard campaigns on gay issues,” Sears said. “I thought frankly that my opinions were mainstream, and I think now they are. When I wrote them, they were more cutting edge, now they are not.”

“I also believe in ‘get married, stay married,’ which a lot of right-wing people have co-opted that as their issue,” she said. “But it’s not their issue, I thought it was my issue too. Political games are played with all kinds of issues and I don’t think issues belong to any one group.”’

Sears’ legal opinions on gay-related issues, including voting with the majority to overturn Georgia’s sodomy law, drew efforts from conservatives to unseat her. In 2004, Gov. Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Christian Coalition backed Grant Brantley in the race; Sears won easily.
http://www.sovo.com/2009/5-8/news/localnews/10070.cfm

[bitchkitty]

2. Very gushy article.

About a woman who is evidently against equal rights for my gay brothers and sisters.

I do not join in the praise.

[usregimechange]

3. I agree and I didn't know that about her until a few minutes ago

[FrenchieCat]

6. Do you actually have cites on this evident stance by Justice Sears against

equal rights for our gay brothers and sisters?

[bitchkitty]

12. I read the article.

I don't know what else you would call being against gay marriage. I call it being against equal rights for gays. I don't see any shades of grey in this issue.

on edit - this is the second paragraph in the OP:

Pro-family progressivism. Sears describes herself, according to sources in Georgia, as a moderate progressive. In criminal cases, she leans pro-defendant but is no ACLUer. She joined the court's majority in voting to overturn Georgia's sodomy law, earning hostility from the social right. But she also joined a unanimous opinion upholding an initiative banning gay marriage.

Emphasis mine.

[FrenchieCat]

14. Do you know what case this was.....

which had a unanimous ruling? I'd like to read about this case and read the opinions.

Thanks.

[bitchkitty]

17. I don't know, but I'll see what I can find.

Be back...

[bitchkitty]

18. Found something...

In 2006, Sears joined a unanimous decision that upheld Georgia's same-sex marriage ban. The court didn't rule on the merits of the ban. It just dismissed a challenge that claimed the law violated a rule governing the number of issues on a ballot measure.

Last paragraph from:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051500418.html

However, from reading other responses in this thread, and of her past actions, I have to say that I may have jumped to conclusions on this matter. I'm a bit confused now!

[elleng]

11. No evidence of that.

.

[Laelth]

15. As a Georgia attorney ...

I have followed the opinions of Justice Sears for several years. We have a relatively liberal Supreme Court (the last vestiges of a once-purely Democratic state whose Governor's office was stolen in 2002, making us the last state in the Old South to go Republican). Justice Sears is not someone I'd like to see Obama nominate to the SCOTUS. Of the Justices on the Georgia Supreme Court, I much prefer Justice Carol Hunstein. Justice Sears is, ultimately, a libertarian. She has strong, liberal civil rights opinions. She also has strong, pro-business opinions. Now, having said that, perhaps her tune on the economic issues would change if she were on the SCOTUS and not subject to re-election in Georgia. I am not sure about that, but she is still not my first choice for the SCOTUS by a long shot.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Number23]

19. "She has strong, liberal civil rights opinions."

That's very good to know. I appreciate your response, even though you don't share my enthusiasm for Judge Sears.

Thanks for sharing!