Jail for judges? Not in South Dakota, apparently.
Constitutional Amendment 3, better known as the J.A.I.L. for Judges initiative, is losing handily in early results from the Mount Rushmore State. The measure would give special grand juries the power to strip "wayward" judges of judicial immunity, investigate them and even indict them for their actions on the bench. J.A.I.L. stands for Judicial Accountability Initiative Law.
The initiative was the brainchild of San Fernando Valley minister Ron Branson, a prolific pro per who has sued more than half-a-dozen judges, all unsucessfully.
Branson chose sparsely populated South Dakota as a testing ground for his measure because it's relatively easy to qualify a ballot initiative there. He hoped a big win there would launch a J.A.I.L. for Judges movement across the country. But Branson's plans may have died in South Dakota tonight.
That loud sigh of relief you hear is coming from Chief Justice Ronald George.
— Cheryl Miller
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