I encourage you to visit The Western Word and read Jack Brown’s new post on Judge Baugh and the state of Montana’s judicial system. A lot of bloggers and newspapers have commented on Baugh, urging that he resign or be removed from the bench, but few have discussed the situation in the context of what can happen when judges are elected instead of appointed. Brown thinks electing judges leads to uneven judicial quality, and his opinion has merit.
Whether the 71-year-old Baugh will resign if pushed hard enough is problematic. Old men can be stubborn, especially if pushed. He might just dig in his heels and even file for re-election. He needs a face saving way out, but at this point there probably isn’t one.