Judges behaving badly. Can we still put our faith in the judicial system?

The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast

Judges are getting more scrutiny these days, from the U.S. Supreme Court to Arizona’s top justices to local jurists.

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have been the topic of numerous news stories that raise ethical questions about the justices' actions as members of the high court.

In southeastern Arizona, Cochise County Judge John Kelliher Jr. has drawn outsize attention for his conduct: Four formal complaints about this courtroom demeanor in two years.

What does all of this mean for the public confidence in the judicial system? Are we reaching a tipping point of lack of confidence more broadly? Or is this just all par for the course in a time of political teeth-gnashing?

In this episode of the Gaggle, we prob those questions and more. Hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl sit down first with Arizona Republic reporter Sarah Lapidus. She has followed Kelliher’s track record with the Judicial Conduct Commission and explains why he continues to draw complaints that lead to high-profile reprimands.

Then, Keith Swisher, a professor of legal ethics at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers School of Law, shares his views on what is going on at this moment in time and how the judicial process is perceived.

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