Editorial: Note to judges: Why make rules?

Thursday, July 29, 1999 | 9:50 a.m.

Judges, of all people, should not be breaking rules. But that is what Clark County's district judges did Monday when they voted to ban the public and media from a meeting that under their own rules should have been open to everyone.

A rule they adopted in May gives the chief district judge the authority to decide whether administrative meetings may be open to the public. Chief Judge Lee Gates had announced that the meeting would be open to everyone. But his colleagues voted 8-7 to close a portion of the meeting to discuss adopting rules of accountability. The logic of the majority was that the judges could speak more freely in private.

They debated the rules of accountability in closed session and later approved them. But it is not excusable to break one rule to debate accountability. Where is the accountability in that?

Open meeting laws do not apply to judges because the state Legislature cannot place restrictions on the judiciary under the separation of powers doctrine. But these judges did pass the rule that granted the chief judge authority to declare open meetings. Gates did that and then was rebuffed.

A rule is a rule. Do not confuse rules with records, which are made to be broken. Either follow the rules or do not adopt them in the first place.