Justices Nigro, Newman struggle for re-election

HARRISBURG (AP) -- In any other year, Justices Russell M. Nigro and Sandra Schultz Newman might have coasted to new, 10-year terms on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
But this year, they are being forced to fight for their jobs because of rising anger toward the court, stirred largely by a pay raise that state lawmakers gave themselves in the middle of the night last summer.
Critics of the high court say Pennsylvania's justices must be held accountable for condoning such legislative arrogance.
"There is a serious disconnect in Pennsylvania between our elected officials" and the people, said Russ Diamond, chairman of PACleanSweep, a political action committee committed to ousting every incumbent in the Legislature.
Leading the rebellion
Citizen activists and radio talk-show hosts who have led the rebellion against the pay-raise law have been clamoring in recent days for "no" votes against Justices Nigro and Newman in today's retention elections.
If either justice is denied a second term, it will be the first time in Pennsylvania history that a member of the Supreme Court has been ousted through the usually low-profile, yes-or-no voting process.
The Legislature approved the pay-raise bill at 2 a.m. July 7 without debate or public notice. The bill boosted lawmakers' pay by 16 percent to 54 percent, pushing the base legislative salary to $81,050 -- higher than any other state but California.
Even more offensive to some people was the way most legislators began collecting their raises immediately in the form of payments known as "unvouchered expenses," in spite of a constitutional ban on lawmakers accepting raises during the term in which they are passed. The state Supreme Court upheld that maneuver 19 years ago.
The pay-raise law -- which also included increases of 11 percent to 15 percent for the Supreme Court justices and 1,000 other judges -- caused such a furor that the House and Senate last week cast a nearly unanimous vote to repeal it.
As Election Day neared, both justices began airing campaign ads, with Justice Nigro boasting in his TV spots that he has "stood up to the politicians in the Legislature."
Justice Nigro has raised more than $400,000 in his campaign, while Justice Newman reported contributions of more than $240,000 last week alone.
G. Terry Madonna, a professor and pollster at Franklin & amp; Marshall College in Lancaster, said he could not remember any TV commercials in past retention elections.
It is also unusual in Pennsylvania for justices to raise large campaign war chests, because none has ever been denied retention, said Lynn A. Marks, executive director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, a group pushing for the appointment of judges rather than their election.
Discouraged
She said she is discouraged by the latest turn of events, worried that voters will make their decision based on anger over the pay-raise issue instead of looking at the justices' record over the past decade.
"The danger is, they're looking at a small slice," she said.
On Monday, citizens activists erected a 25-foot, inflatable pig outside the state Capitol and called for the justices' ouster. A truck flying several American flags drove back and forth bearing the message "Vote NO Judicial Retention."
Several Pennsylvania newspapers have called for "no" votes for Justices Nigro and Newman, arguing that the court has given the Legislature free rein to routinely violate constitutional guarantees of public involvement in making public policy.
"The time has come to stand up for the constitution, and send a clear message to the courts, the Legislature and the executive branch that Pennsylvanians still claim -- indeed, demand -- the right to a government 'of the people, by the people, for the people,"' The Patriot-News of Harrisburg editorialized Friday.
Chief Justice Ralph Cappy lobbied for higher judicial salaries and initially dismissed the criticism as "knee-jerk," but later acknowledged that he "probably used inappropriate words."
Justices Nigro and Newman, both Philadelphia natives elected to the court in 1995, have not been outspoken about the pay-raise law that increased their annual salaries from $150,369 to $171,800. But both have defended their records on the court.
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