Dougan is absolutely insane. Judges taking care of other judges, shocking.

The SJC "conclude[d] that although holding judges accountable for acts of bias in contravention of the Code of Judicial Conduct is essential, it must be accomplished without violating the protection afforded the deliberative processes of judges fundamental to ensuring that they may act without fear or favor in exercising their constitutional responsibility to be both impartial and independent. In so concluding, [the SJC] formally recognize a judicial deliberative privilege that guards against intrusions into such processes -- a protection [the SJC has] implicitly understood as necessary to the finality, integrity, and quality of judicial decisions. Such a privilege is deeply rooted in our common-law and constitutional jurisprudence and in the precedents of the United States Supreme Court and the courts of our sister States." (quoting the recent SJC case at issue in this BosGlobe article) So what more need be said? Other than this SJC ruling upholds the separation of the judicial from the administrative and legislative branches of our state government. As it should. And as intended by the framers of our state constitution as well as our federal constitution. After all, John Adams, the principal author of our state constitution, was adamant in 3 distinct and separate branches of government.

I doubt the framers of our state constitution would go along with the idea that judges never have to explain their legal position on a particular case they are presiding over. After all, that is pretty much what the framers rebelled against England for. A separation of the the branches of government not withstanding this seems a bit self serving......in this day and age it seems reasonable to be able to inquire of a judge how they arrived at a particular decision. Without undermining the judicial system. We seem to be moving inexorably towards a more active police state mentality. Individual rights taking a back seat to the rights of the government and it's various branches. Not sure J. Adams would like that trend very much.

"THE SJC HAS CIRCLED THE WAGONS" What a joke, but the joke is again on us.

Agreed that judges shouldn't be required to write opinions. However, they should also not be appointed for life, and should have to run for election every four years. Only then will they have the respect of the Legislature, and deserve their position as a separate and coequal branch of government.

He certainly looks it in the photograph.

Judges! We don't need no stinkin' judges!

In a country where five percent of the world's population results in twenty five percent of the world's prison population, we should start asking district attorneys what their thinking process is as they prosecute cases. This would be especially enlightening regarding crimes where defendants are charged with multiple variations of the same crime in criminal cases. Read "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander. I think you would deeply question prosecutorial and legislative injustice that has turned the United States into a prison culture and has left us awash in a sea of drugs.

Ah, yes. "The respect of the Legislature" is such a worthy goal. Those selfless defenders of liberty and justice have proved time and again that they are all that stands between the Commonwealth and chaos. Let's elect our judges like Texas and Arizona and then we can join them at the pinnacle of American jurisprudence. We need more electoral contests in which the candidates competed to see who can promise the most draconian response to whatever recent crime has garnered the largest Herald front page headline. If Dougan is a problem, impeach him. Don't change the world to address some perception of anti-police bias.

" We seem to be moving inexorably towards a more active police state mentality. Individual rights taking a back seat to the rights of the government and it's various branches." The beef with this judge is that he is biased against the police and the prosecution, so the DA is going after him for daring to resist the trend you noted above. This has nothing to do with justice, it's payback for not working hand and hand with the prosecution. I look forward to the first judge brought before the SJC for excessive "cooperation" with the prosecution.

Yes, we lawyers routinely bribe judges. It's actually quite easy, we just walk right up to him and offer the bribe and hope he doesn't report us to the bar for disbarment proceedings or have us prosecuted for any number of crimes. The American public becomes dumber by the hour

That's the system. If Jonathen Winters were a judge, there would be a lot of laughs but then "HE THE JUDGE". The judge is the last refuge of solution to our legal or civil disputes, but not quite. OK you can appeal, to what, oh, I can guess, ANOTHER JUDGE. But what if George Carlin were the other Appeals judge? (Actually, I think he'd make a great judge.) The point in this mad narrative is that your judge is utimatly the final solution, however strange he may be. Solution to this solution? Try to prevent strange persons from becoming judges. How do ya do dat?