Circuit judges, blind to the will of Madison County voters, recruited reinforcements to preserve their judicial structure as a Democratic fortress in a Republican realm.
They chose Ron Motil and Angela Donohoo as associate judges to fix the membership in that position at 13 Democrats and zero Republicans.
We are not doubting their legal experience and ability or their ability to administer justice fairly and independently.
But Republicans in recent years have been making a strong case for why they too should be considered for appointment, namely that their team is just as talented and the Court should be representative of the people it serves.
Consider this: If the circuit judges who appointed Motil and Donohoo had determined the party of their picks by flipping a coin, the odds against a single party occupying all 13 positions would run 8,191 to one.
In their arrogance, circuit judges keep the record of the appointment process secret because the rules allow them to do so, though it’s no secret that Madison County voters have burst free from a Democratic grip.
Voters stunned that party in 2016 by electing Republican Kurt Prenzler as county board chairman and by delivering a Republican majority on the county board for the first time in ages.
Last year, voters re-hired Prenzler and strengthened the Republican Board majority. They elected Republicans Tom Haine and Tom McRae as state’s attorney and circuit clerk.
They chose Stephen Stobbs, the only Republican associate judge, as circuit judge. They chose Amy Maher as circuit judge over a two-term Democratic state’s attorney.
Democratic judges couldn’t see anything in those results except an opportunity to close the ranks of associate judges?
Associate judges can do anything circuit judges do, but they cannot act contrary to the will of circuit judges without putting their jobs at risk.
Circuit judges can cast an associate judge aside after four years without explanation. That process comes up again in 2023.
Circuit judges, on the other hand, keep their jobs as long as they like unless they foul up so badly that 40 percent of voters deny their retention.
Picking Motil and Donohoo could be a foul up worth at least 40 percent.